[aaronbwebber]

I call bullshit. Say what tower it was, and when it was built, and what time frame you are actually talking about so we can verify for ourselves whether it was actually empty or not, or even if it was empty whether it was empty for a good reason (e.g. not having it's habitability permit). Otherwise this is the worst kind of anecdata - not even enough detail to verify that the anecdote is true, nevermind whether it is actually a representative sample of a larger issue or just an odd case.

[cmclaughlin]

I'm all for backing up claims, but drive through Pac Heights and Cow Hollow at night - you won't see many lights on in those mansions. Drive by during the day and all you see is construction workers and gardeners tending to the properties there. It's pretty obvious people don't live there more than a couple months a year. These are the ultra rich with property in the most expensive cities all over the world.

[robbyking]

> I'm all for backing up claims, but [...] you won't see many lights on in those mansions.

I'm with you 100%. I lived in SF from 1998-2006, then again for a few years in the 2010's, and when rental prices are high landlords seem to prefer holding out rather than lowering their rates. I assume this is to avoid locking a potentially valuable rental unit into a low, rent-controlled lease. (On a side note, this is why many economists believe rent control is bad overall for rental markets: http://freakonomics.com/podcast/rent-control/)

[pcwalton]

Mansions in Pacific Heights and condos in SOMA are very different. If mansions in Pacific Heights are indeed vacant (which, to be clear, I doubt they are) that would suggest that a better use of the space would be to split them up into new, more affordable, units.

[LorenPechtel]

If they live there a couple of months a year it's a vacation home, not a vacant home.

[filoleg]

Cannot speak for SF, but that was definitely the case with highrises in downtown Vancouver. Saw quite a few of those next to the waterfront that had 90% of the apartments (visible from the ground) completely empty or even have the plastic cover on the windows on the inside, with very few (i could count less than 5 of those out of about 30 being visible enough to judge) having anything on the inside.