3 ms·

This really confused me. They are complaining the high price of the rent. But instead of protesting in front of real estate companies, landlords, or those who r

by dengnan 13y ago

This really confused me. They are complaining the high price of the rent. But instead of protesting in front of real estate companies, landlords, or those who rent their properties with high prices, they stopped Google buses, Apple buses and buses whose owners sell computers, build websites, share information across Internet. They really picked wrong targets. They can buy computers with low prices and the price is getting lower. Remember: Apple decides the price of laptop and/or desktop, not the price of the real estate.

wpietri 13y ago
A few months back I talked with a leasing agent who was showing a property across the street from me. When he told me the rent, I was gobsmacked. When I asked him why it was so high, he said straight out that they jacked the rents way up because the place was near the corporate bus stops. That echoes what I heard when I looked for a new place 2 years ago. The buses bring a lot of people with a lot of money to the neighborhood. Basic economics tells you what happens then.
- dengnan 13y ago
  I can see the problem of the imbalance of the demand-supply. But I see no reason to blaim tech companies. It is like blaming patients when emergency room responds slowly because of too many patients. Instead of asking patients to leave, we should ask for more doctors or more hospitals. In this case, why not blaming landlords for rising the price? Or asking the government to provide more affordable housings. Stopping a tech company's bus will fix nothing.
  - wpietri 13y ago
    Tech company buses are importing housing demand into the city. According to a recent study, about half the people riding buses would move closer to work if the buses didn't exist. That would be circa 10,000 people, a significant number in San Francisco's relatively illiquid housing market. So you're wrong. Stopping the buses would make a substantial difference.

by dengnan 13y ago

wpietri 13y ago

A few months back I talked with a leasing agent who was showing a property across the street from me. When he told me the rent, I was gobsmacked. When I asked him why it was so high, he said straight out that they jacked the rents way up because the place was near the corporate bus stops. That echoes what I heard when I looked for a new place 2 years ago. The buses bring a lot of people with a lot of money to the neighborhood. Basic economics tells you what happens then.

dengnan 13y ago
I can see the problem of the imbalance of the demand-supply. But I see no reason to blaim tech companies. It is like blaming patients when emergency room responds slowly because of too many patients. Instead of asking patients to leave, we should ask for more doctors or more hospitals. In this case, why not blaming landlords for rising the price? Or asking the government to provide more affordable housings. Stopping a tech company's bus will fix nothing.
- wpietri 13y ago
  Tech company buses are importing housing demand into the city. According to a recent study, about half the people riding buses would move closer to work if the buses didn't exist. That would be circa 10,000 people, a significant number in San Francisco's relatively illiquid housing market. So you're wrong. Stopping the buses would make a substantial difference.