7 ms·

When I visited the Seattle area, locals were complaining about all the Bay Area people moving up there and driving the rent up. I wonder how big a problem that

by cx1000 10y ago

When I visited the Seattle area, locals were complaining about all the Bay Area people moving up there and driving the rent up. I wonder how big a problem that might become for places that are appealing to Bay Area residents like Seattle, Austin, Denver, etc.

amyjess 10y ago
Locals in Dallas are similarly complaining. We've had a lot of companies move here in the last few years, and housing prices have skyrocketed as a result. So far, rents haven't gone up quite as much as purchase prices, but they're going up too, and it's only a matter of time before rent catches up. We used to be one of the cheapest cities in the country, and while we're still cheap compared to California, the gap has noticeably narrowed. (edit: I've also heard of Californians moving here who make an offer for well above the asking price, just to make sure they get it, which contributes to the skyrocketing prices)
- ryandrake 10y ago
  > I've also heard of Californians moving here who make an offer for well above the asking price, just to make sure they get it, which contributes to the skyrocketing prices Maybe that's all Californians know. It's normal out here. I put in an offer on a home that received 45 other written offers, 1/4 of them all-cash and above asking price. If you're financing, you need to go much higher than 25% above asking. It's insanity. Then we go move to different parts of the country and forget that you don't need that aggressive approach everywhere.
chiph 10y ago
It's already a problem. It's not uncommon for home sales in Austin to be all-cash, and 10% over the asking price. It's not all Californians though - a coworker reports Chinese investors buying 3 homes in his neighborhood. Combine the inflow of new residents with the existing stressed road system and city & county council inaction on mass transit, and traffic is ugly. It can take me 35-40 minutes to go 8.5 miles some days.
- gech 10y ago
  "Chinese investors buying 3 homes in his neighborhood" Here's a problem...
  - chiph 10y ago
    Not because they're Chinese, but because they paid in cash and above the asking price, affecting affordability. Two of them have tenants, one is sitting empty.
brogrammernot 10y ago
It'll be a large problem. The issue is that the concept of ownership is changing in the "millennial" generation. There isn't a drive to own a car, a house or other large purchases so the concept of paying $200-500/more a month for leasing an apartment isn't as cumbersome as it was for the past generation. So as the technology folks from other cities move into these newly labeled "tech hubs" they'll drive the rent up because the costs seem so much lower than they actually are. It's a hard concept for some reason to grasp that they can pay $1500/month for a 1 bedroom in other tech cities that's $2800/month in SV/SF. However, what they don't realize is that it used to be $1100/month but landlords take advantage of the fact that $400/more/month is not an issue for someone coming from SF/SV
- pjc50 10y ago
  There isn't a drive to own a car, a house or other large purchases Isn't it more the lack of spare cash for those, especially the large deposits required for housing? so the concept of paying $200-500/more a month for leasing an apartment isn't as cumbersome as it was for the past generation I think you underestimate the extent to which people have looked at the mortgage costs and would love to own a house if they could afford to.
  - jahewson 10y ago
    No, it's not a spare cash problem. The modern world is full of credit. Anyone can save a deposit given enough time, affording the monthly mortgage payments is the challenge. There's a demographic difference, for example I'm constantly being asked by members of the prior generation why I don't own two cars and how we possibly cope. Actually I have no interested in owning any cars at all but one is necessary. The same goes for housing - why don't you buy? Because I don't need to... Now, we millennials do care a lot about housing but only to the extent that the previous generation has made it unaffordable.
    - x3n0ph3n3 10y ago
      > The modern world is full of credit. I'm sure a generation of young people who watched their parents go into crippling debt has made people wary of credit. > Anyone can save a deposit given enough time, affording the monthly mortgage payments is the challenge. Funny, I can handle the mortgage, but not the down payment (even with $100K+ in the bank).
chadgeidel 10y ago
Pretty sure it's already happening in Denver. I've got a few co-workers who moved from the Bay Area recently. Primarily because of housing and more child care options / schools.
jseliger 10y ago
locals were complaining about all the Bay Area people moving up there and driving the rent up My family moved from CA to the Seattle area in the '90s and people complained about the same damn things. The other day I was talking to my Dad about this, after I sent him an article saying that the average price of a house in Seattle (or maybe King County) hit about $600,000, but in SF / SV it was $1.2 million. He observed that Seattle-area prices were also half of Bay Area prices twenty years ago, and that it's pretty funny that the ratio has remained about the same.

by cx1000 10y ago

amyjess 10y ago

Locals in Dallas are similarly complaining. We've had a lot of companies move here in the last few years, and housing prices have skyrocketed as a result. So far, rents haven't gone up quite as much as purchase prices, but they're going up too, and it's only a matter of time before rent catches up. We used to be one of the cheapest cities in the country, and while we're still cheap compared to California, the gap has noticeably narrowed. (edit: I've also heard of Californians moving here who make an offer for well above the asking price, just to make sure they get it, which contributes to the skyrocketing prices)

ryandrake 10y ago
> I've also heard of Californians moving here who make an offer for well above the asking price, just to make sure they get it, which contributes to the skyrocketing prices Maybe that's all Californians know. It's normal out here. I put in an offer on a home that received 45 other written offers, 1/4 of them all-cash and above asking price. If you're financing, you need to go much higher than 25% above asking. It's insanity. Then we go move to different parts of the country and forget that you don't need that aggressive approach everywhere.

chiph 10y ago

It's already a problem. It's not uncommon for home sales in Austin to be all-cash, and 10% over the asking price. It's not all Californians though - a coworker reports Chinese investors buying 3 homes in his neighborhood. Combine the inflow of new residents with the existing stressed road system and city & county council inaction on mass transit, and traffic is ugly. It can take me 35-40 minutes to go 8.5 miles some days.

gech 10y ago
"Chinese investors buying 3 homes in his neighborhood" Here's a problem...
- chiph 10y ago
  Not because they're Chinese, but because they paid in cash and above the asking price, affecting affordability. Two of them have tenants, one is sitting empty.

brogrammernot 10y ago

It'll be a large problem. The issue is that the concept of ownership is changing in the "millennial" generation. There isn't a drive to own a car, a house or other large purchases so the concept of paying $200-500/more a month for leasing an apartment isn't as cumbersome as it was for the past generation. So as the technology folks from other cities move into these newly labeled "tech hubs" they'll drive the rent up because the costs seem so much lower than they actually are. It's a hard concept for some reason to grasp that they can pay $1500/month for a 1 bedroom in other tech cities that's $2800/month in SV/SF. However, what they don't realize is that it used to be $1100/month but landlords take advantage of the fact that $400/more/month is not an issue for someone coming from SF/SV

pjc50 10y ago
There isn't a drive to own a car, a house or other large purchases Isn't it more the lack of spare cash for those, especially the large deposits required for housing? so the concept of paying $200-500/more a month for leasing an apartment isn't as cumbersome as it was for the past generation I think you underestimate the extent to which people have looked at the mortgage costs and would love to own a house if they could afford to.
- jahewson 10y ago
  No, it's not a spare cash problem. The modern world is full of credit. Anyone can save a deposit given enough time, affording the monthly mortgage payments is the challenge. There's a demographic difference, for example I'm constantly being asked by members of the prior generation why I don't own two cars and how we possibly cope. Actually I have no interested in owning any cars at all but one is necessary. The same goes for housing - why don't you buy? Because I don't need to... Now, we millennials do care a lot about housing but only to the extent that the previous generation has made it unaffordable.
  - x3n0ph3n3 10y ago
    > The modern world is full of credit. I'm sure a generation of young people who watched their parents go into crippling debt has made people wary of credit. > Anyone can save a deposit given enough time, affording the monthly mortgage payments is the challenge. Funny, I can handle the mortgage, but not the down payment (even with $100K+ in the bank).

chadgeidel 10y ago

Pretty sure it's already happening in Denver. I've got a few co-workers who moved from the Bay Area recently. Primarily because of housing and more child care options / schools.

jseliger 10y ago

locals were complaining about all the Bay Area people moving up there and driving the rent up My family moved from CA to the Seattle area in the '90s and people complained about the same damn things. The other day I was talking to my Dad about this, after I sent him an article saying that the average price of a house in Seattle (or maybe King County) hit about $600,000, but in SF / SV it was $1.2 million. He observed that Seattle-area prices were also half of Bay Area prices twenty years ago, and that it's pretty funny that the ratio has remained about the same.