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.