New construction is unlikely to push down rents anywhere in the current market environment in SF. But it does limit upward pressure on rents elsewhere. The bigger supply also is likely to lead to big price cuts during the next crash.
And new construction becomes old within a few years. There are plenty of perfectly serviceable condo towers of unfashionable age in downtown Chicago with very reasonably priced apartments.
The problem is that they are rent-controlled. The article actually states that those newer properties are majority market-based. The gap between the market rate and the rent-control rate actually increases. This puts pressure on landlords to increase rents for these rent-controlled tenants using 1 of the 8 means prompting evictions. This is what is causing the unrest, despite allocating a significant percentage of new developments to affordable housing.
And new construction becomes old within a few years. There are plenty of perfectly serviceable condo towers of unfashionable age in downtown Chicago with very reasonably priced apartments.