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If this trend continues, it should affect bay area housing prices. I dont see any reason to pay such high rent, if I could work anywhere in the pacific north we

If this trend continues, it should affect bay area housing prices. I dont see any reason to pay such high rent, if I could work anywhere in the pacific north west.

crispyporkbites 6y ago
I don’t know about the US, but there’s more to urban areas than just the commute time. If anything wfh means spending more time in your home neighbourhood, so you’re going to need more amenities closer by - which are generally found in cities.
- swsieber 6y ago
  But even by city standards, the bay housing prices are atronomicsl, right?
- pb7 6y ago
  This will be fiercely debated but Bay Area (notably San Francisco) has previously been a mix of {things to do, high paying jobs}. Once you remove high paying jobs (or rather, expand them to other cities by way of remoteness), there are many other equally good or better contenders for things to do with significantly cheaper housing.
- xwdv 6y ago
  Nature is an amenity.
- baddox 6y ago
  There’s an opposite effect too, because one of the biggest urban amenities is the density of activities which are likely to be closed for some time: night life, concerts, lots of hobbies, etc.
jasonv 6y ago
My Bay Area job is letting me WFH permanently, and I'm looking to move to an adjacent area but the rental market is empty, and housing sales seem... targeted to SF expats.
- baddox 6y ago
  And I haven’t actually seen the supposed rental price decrease in SF and the peninsula, other than some 2- to 4-week free rent offers.
  - advaita 6y ago
    South bay anecdote: Rent was ~3.8k, I tried to negotiate on renewal (4- at same rate) saying market conditions dont justify it. The management refused to go below ~3.3k, now they are offering same apartment at 2.8k after I vacated. That's deep decrease (~33%), I fully expect the effects to show up starting Q4.
    - user5994461 6y ago
      Exactly, the rental market is very illiquid, it could easily take a year for price to settle at a new low. Landlords are stubborn beings always thinking they can rent easily and for more. Gotta take a beating with the property being empty for weeks/months before they adjust to reality. (Lettings agents don't care about waiting and pushing tenants out, they make fees either way). Expect multiple hits downward over the coming year(s) as layoff benefits come to an end, personal savings dry up, evictions are reinstated, properties are foreclosed, etc...
- stjohnswarts 6y ago
  bad time to buy a house just about anywhere unless you get some insane deal on it and know you can flip it quickly.

If this trend continues, it should affect bay area housing prices. I dont see any reason to pay such high rent, if I could work anywhere in the pacific north west.

crispyporkbites 6y ago

I don’t know about the US, but there’s more to urban areas than just the commute time. If anything wfh means spending more time in your home neighbourhood, so you’re going to need more amenities closer by - which are generally found in cities.

swsieber 6y ago
But even by city standards, the bay housing prices are atronomicsl, right?
pb7 6y ago
This will be fiercely debated but Bay Area (notably San Francisco) has previously been a mix of {things to do, high paying jobs}. Once you remove high paying jobs (or rather, expand them to other cities by way of remoteness), there are many other equally good or better contenders for things to do with significantly cheaper housing.
xwdv 6y ago
Nature is an amenity.
baddox 6y ago
There’s an opposite effect too, because one of the biggest urban amenities is the density of activities which are likely to be closed for some time: night life, concerts, lots of hobbies, etc.

jasonv 6y ago

My Bay Area job is letting me WFH permanently, and I'm looking to move to an adjacent area but the rental market is empty, and housing sales seem... targeted to SF expats.

baddox 6y ago
And I haven’t actually seen the supposed rental price decrease in SF and the peninsula, other than some 2- to 4-week free rent offers.
- advaita 6y ago
  South bay anecdote: Rent was ~3.8k, I tried to negotiate on renewal (4- at same rate) saying market conditions dont justify it. The management refused to go below ~3.3k, now they are offering same apartment at 2.8k after I vacated. That's deep decrease (~33%), I fully expect the effects to show up starting Q4.
  - user5994461 6y ago
    Exactly, the rental market is very illiquid, it could easily take a year for price to settle at a new low. Landlords are stubborn beings always thinking they can rent easily and for more. Gotta take a beating with the property being empty for weeks/months before they adjust to reality. (Lettings agents don't care about waiting and pushing tenants out, they make fees either way). Expect multiple hits downward over the coming year(s) as layoff benefits come to an end, personal savings dry up, evictions are reinstated, properties are foreclosed, etc...
stjohnswarts 6y ago
bad time to buy a house just about anywhere unless you get some insane deal on it and know you can flip it quickly.