It may be that one of the things about SF that makes it attractive for OP is that it is expensive. Keeps the riff-raff out. Not that anyone in SF would ever admit that publicly.
> It may be that one of the things about SF that makes it attractive for OP is that it is expensive. Keeps the riff-raff out. Not that anyone in SF would ever admit that publicly.
This is really inaccurate, and especially discouraging on a message board for "entrepreneurs", who should really be in favor of cheaper housing close to venture capital, so new businesses are more viable.
Is housing in tier 1 cities like SF a giffen good (where demand rises with price)? Possibly [1]. That said, it wouldn't be unique to SF if true and wouldn't detract from your other policy points.
70% of SF's homeless had homes in SF before they were on the street, and there's good evidence that high housing prices correlate with high homelessness. Decreasing home prices will probably help with homelessness.
> ...high housing prices correlate with high homelessness. Decreasing home prices will probably help with homelessness.
Nice weather, good infrastructure, funding for city services, and disposable income in the area could be driving both.
Pool of affordable housing might provide a better signal for homelessness than median housing costs in an area this expensive.
ie, There's probably not a large percentage of marginal homeless in SF, who could afford a $1.03 million home but not the current median $1.15 million home.
Either way, average rent is trending slightly downward, and Zillow predicts home prices in SF to fall 0.5% next year, so maybe we'll see.
I don't think these marginal shifts, even if magnified 10 times, will really be a substitute for something like housing first or mental health programs.
When I was in downtown San Francisco the streets were lined with homeless people. I had never seen so many homeless people in one area. Maybe there are not so many homeless in other parts of the bay area, but not from what I saw.
This is really inaccurate, and especially discouraging on a message board for "entrepreneurs", who should really be in favor of cheaper housing close to venture capital, so new businesses are more viable.
https://kev.inburke.com/kevin/sf-housing-politics/