Rents are dropping across the US • Hacker News Board

Re: Rents are dropping across the US

#141

Post by stellar678 » Wed, Jun 17, 2020, 9:17 PM UTC

treeman79 wrote: post #103

asveikau wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe this sounds strange, but I think there is also a category of people who prefer suburbs or exurbs and are really bitter that the pendulum has swung back to cities in the last ~20 years. They are really eager to see a trend out of small amounts of data. Or proclaim urban life dead, now and forever. I personally feel strongly in the other direction. We had the infamous "white flight" and car-centric communities an…

Kids change mindset. Kids love yards. They love the little creek that runs past. I love the safety. Small neighborhood, we all know each other and look out for the kids that run around playing.

I loved seeing 10 year old kids riding their bikes around the parks of Stockholm after dark in the summertime. Hell, I see the same thing in the recently-fixed Snow Park in Oakland.

There's no natural law that says kids can't play safely in nature in an urban environment. Plus the added benefit of meeting and interacting with other kids from all different walks of life.

We just have to prioritize it - and unfortunately the "got my own piece of nature and I'll drive everywhere else" suburban mindset is part of what forces our cities (and suburbs) to remain dangerous asphalt wastelands.

Re: Rents are dropping across the US

#142

Post by scythe » Wed, Jun 17, 2020, 9:17 PM UTC

asveikau wrote: post #88

spamizbad wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Maybe not so good for those who were especially attached to either the vibrant city life or busy office life. I don't understand this reasoning. Was city life not vibrant when rents were 1/3rd the price? If anything, "hypergentrification" tends to have a sterilizing effect on city life. To be honest I'm kinda looking forward to it. Nothing against HENRYs (High earners, not rich yet)... but their "cultural tastes" a…

Maybe this sounds strange, but I think there is also a category of people who prefer suburbs or exurbs and are really bitter that the pendulum has swung back to cities in the last ~20 years. They are really eager to see a trend out of small amounts of data. Or proclaim urban life dead, now and forever. I personally feel strongly in the other direction. We had the infamous "white flight" and car-centric communities an…

>I personally feel strongly in the other direction. We had the infamous "white flight" and car-centric communities and life.

Getting out of car-centrism doesn't require everyone to live in large cities. Small cities with good design can be more than enough. Living in a dense arrangement might be more tolerable for many people in a small city where the countryside is more accessible.

Re: Rents are dropping across the US

#143

Post by doh » Wed, Jun 17, 2020, 9:17 PM UTC

slg wrote: post #136

doh wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We just canceled our lease two weeks ago. We had a large apartment in one of the new high-rises in Downtown LA. The last offer was 3 months free and 2 parking spaces free if we stay for 12 month lease, which comes to 34% discount on the rent including parking. Other buildings are offering by default two months rent-free and they will pay the movers if you decide to move in. DTLA is a special place as it has plenty of…

For added context and to build off your last point, for years it has been relatively standard for luxury rentals in DTLA to offer somewhere between 4-8 weeks free rent. It might be more appropriate to view this as a single free month with free parking when comparing to other markets.

Thank you, that's a good context. In the building where we moved in 3 years ago from SF, they didn't offer any free rent at point as they were completely full.

However, the larger point stand. Most building did offer around a month of free rent to new tenants in last couple of years.

Re: Rents are dropping across the US

#144

Post by ghaff » Wed, Jun 17, 2020, 9:18 PM UTC

sbierwagen wrote: post #137

spamizbad wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Maybe not so good for those who were especially attached to either the vibrant city life or busy office life. I don't understand this reasoning. Was city life not vibrant when rents were 1/3rd the price? If anything, "hypergentrification" tends to have a sterilizing effect on city life. To be honest I'm kinda looking forward to it. Nothing against HENRYs (High earners, not rich yet)... but their "cultural tastes" a…

I believe ghaff is referring to COVID effects, not rent. Right now in most cities all bars, restaurants, theaters and nightclubs are closed. If you can only leave your Manhattan apartment to buy food, then you might as well be living in Poughkeepsie, and saving $5k a month in rent.

That and even post-COVID a lot of those bars, restaurants, theaters, and nightclubs may not exist any longer.

Re: Rents are dropping across the US

#145

Post by asveikau » Wed, Jun 17, 2020, 9:19 PM UTC

scythe wrote: post #142

asveikau wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe this sounds strange, but I think there is also a category of people who prefer suburbs or exurbs and are really bitter that the pendulum has swung back to cities in the last ~20 years. They are really eager to see a trend out of small amounts of data. Or proclaim urban life dead, now and forever. I personally feel strongly in the other direction. We had the infamous "white flight" and car-centric communities an…

>I personally feel strongly in the other direction. We had the infamous "white flight" and car-centric communities and life. Getting out of car-centrism doesn't require everyone to live in large cities. Small cities with good design can be more than enough. Living in a dense arrangement might be more tolerable for many people in a small city where the countryside is more accessible.

Thank you, that's an excellent point. We (meaning often times me) have a tendency to think about the extremes as on/off. I have personally passed through a lot of pleasant, walkable small towns in the US, mostly they were laid out in the 19th century and often along a train line or river.

Re: Rents are dropping across the US

#146

Post by holidayacct » Wed, Jun 17, 2020, 9:21 PM UTC

On a related topic, for those of you who maybe unemployed or know someone who is unemployed.

Beware of rumor spreading when you are looking for work there are companies that are setup for a single purpose. They keep track of the recently unemployed and specialize in spreading rumors at every and any company that you interview at (They masquerade as in-person advertisers or MLM companies). They do this to keep you unemployed long enough so that they can force you into certain places at ridiculously low salaries, they then keep you in debt slavery to force you to purchase from certain places that landlords or shop owners benefit from. This happens all over the country and these vultures are taking advantage of people all over the place.

Re: Rents are dropping across the US

#147

Post by bradlys » Wed, Jun 17, 2020, 9:26 PM UTC

subsubzero wrote: post #106

A lot of engineers in my group as well as a few friends are leaving the SF bay area. Now that working there is no longer a requirement and everything is shut down, why live there? Oregon, Nevada, Colo, (cheaper areas of CA), all are places that they are heading to. Main reasons are cost, crowds(lack thereof) and overall better quality of life. Expect this trend to accelerate once more leases end.

And in my circle - none are leaving.

We all recognize that leaving the area means leaving job opportunities behind too. We've seen what happens to engineers career trajectory who are remote at an in-person company.

Re: Rents are dropping across the US

#148

Post by muffinman26 » Wed, Jun 17, 2020, 9:29 PM UTC

cududa wrote: post #77

Spooky23 wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People are doing more than that. A former colleague caught folks working remote overseas as well.

What do you mean “caught”? Is there a stipulation on time zone or country? Truly don’t see the problem of bopping off to another country as long as you’re still doing your work and active in the team?

There's usually tax implications for working for an extended period of time in another country. As a result, big companies may require employees moving to a new country to negotiate a new job offer for a regional office and smaller companies might not be able to handle the tax laws at all.

Some industries may also run into legal issues if an employee working in another country has to access data that is not allowed to cross country lines.

Re: Rents are dropping across the US

#149

Post by jdhn » Wed, Jun 17, 2020, 9:29 PM UTC

taylorhou wrote: post #94

If I were a renter right now and in an urban area with a lease renewal coming due, I'd 1000% call the mgmt co's bluff. Context: my firm provides back office services to 50k+ rental units across the nation and unless you're in some oddly hot market, most mgmt companies currently are holding their breath that their renters don't say anything and renew at the same price. If you're reasonable, you can easily negotiate a…

Do you see this in non-hot markets as well (aka the Midwest)? My lease is up in July, and I don't really want to move, but any chance to knock even $50 off my monthly rent would be nice.

Re: Rents are dropping across the US

#150

Post by slg » Wed, Jun 17, 2020, 9:30 PM UTC

doh wrote: post #143

slg wrote: post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For added context and to build off your last point, for years it has been relatively standard for luxury rentals in DTLA to offer somewhere between 4-8 weeks free rent. It might be more appropriate to view this as a single free month with free parking when comparing to other markets.

Thank you, that's a good context. In the building where we moved in 3 years ago from SF, they didn't offer any free rent at point as they were completely full. However, the larger point stand. Most building did offer around a month of free rent to new tenants in last couple of years.

Interesting, I got 4 weeks free when I moved to the area in 2017. Although I am sure there were places that didn't offer that. The closer a place gets to being full, the more important it is to renew leases at the full sticker price rather than reaching 100% occupancy. I know I was able to bargain down my rent during my last lease renewal because the building was still offering free rent to new residents.