4 ms·

> It's still an open question as to whether this will cause San Francisco level problems SF's (SV's) problem is that it refuses to build houses commensurate to

> It's still an open question as to whether this will cause San Francisco level problems SF's (SV's) problem is that it refuses to build houses commensurate to the number of people who move there. Any number of well paid jobs from any industry would have caused the same problem. High paying (middle class) jobs (outside of manufacturing) are not a problem. > If this just means that tech is finally spreading out a bit For better or worse, the exodus of tech companies out of SV could have been prevented. The valley could have captured nearly the entire industry if it just built more houses. Billions (likely trillions over the course of a few decades) of dollars will not flow into the local economy.

saryant 11y ago
Compare the population growth in the Houston MSA against San Francisco's: the Houston area grew by 9.6% between between 2010 and 2014 while the SFBA grew by 5.9%. Compare that to the two regions' 5-year housing price index (a measure of the movement of housing prices). The Bay Area sits at 36 yet Houston at 25. Despite faster population growth, Houston's housing prices have not risen nearly as dramatically. I have to imagine that can be at least partly attributed to the seemingly limitless number of houses being built around Houston. (This comparison would probably make more sense if we could compare CSAs rather than MSAs but I couldn't find a breakdown of housing price trends at that level)
- shostack 11y ago
  Let's be honest....there are many other reasons why homes in the Bay Area are more desirable to many compared to Texas. It also attracts much more foreign investment due to its location.
  - saryant 11y ago
    According to the National Association of Realtors, that's actually not the case. California attracts only slightly more international buyers than Texas. Texas has stronger ties to Latin America and the Middle East while still attracting a not-insignificant number of Asian buyers (Houston in particular has very strong ties to Asia). California obviously does get the bulk of investment from Asia. http://www.realtor.org/sites/default/files/2014%20Profile%20of%20International%20Home%20Buying%20Activity.pdf http://www.realtor.org/sites/default/files/2014%20Profile%20...
scarmig 11y ago
I'm a tech booster, and building and zoning restrictions certainly don't help the housing problem here. But I think it's a wee bit disingenuous to suggest it's as easy as waving a magic wand and watching all the house prices fall to Stockton levels. Even if the rate of new construction pentupled, it wouldn't lower house prices; at best it'd make them increase at a slightly slower rate. It's a good idea on its own for the purposes of environment and urban development, but pretending that it'd suddenly allow a day laborer or a teacher's aide to be able to afford rent or ownership here adds as little as the people saying tech workers are source of all evil in the world.
- seanflyon 11y ago
  You don't need to bring prices down to Stockton levels to avoid San Francisco level problems.

saryant 11y ago

Compare the population growth in the Houston MSA against San Francisco's: the Houston area grew by 9.6% between between 2010 and 2014 while the SFBA grew by 5.9%. Compare that to the two regions' 5-year housing price index (a measure of the movement of housing prices). The Bay Area sits at 36 yet Houston at 25. Despite faster population growth, Houston's housing prices have not risen nearly as dramatically. I have to imagine that can be at least partly attributed to the seemingly limitless number of houses being built around Houston. (This comparison would probably make more sense if we could compare CSAs rather than MSAs but I couldn't find a breakdown of housing price trends at that level)

shostack 11y ago
Let's be honest....there are many other reasons why homes in the Bay Area are more desirable to many compared to Texas. It also attracts much more foreign investment due to its location.
- saryant 11y ago
  According to the National Association of Realtors, that's actually not the case. California attracts only slightly more international buyers than Texas. Texas has stronger ties to Latin America and the Middle East while still attracting a not-insignificant number of Asian buyers (Houston in particular has very strong ties to Asia). California obviously does get the bulk of investment from Asia. http://www.realtor.org/sites/default/files/2014%20Profile%20of%20International%20Home%20Buying%20Activity.pdf http://www.realtor.org/sites/default/files/2014%20Profile%20...

scarmig 11y ago

I'm a tech booster, and building and zoning restrictions certainly don't help the housing problem here. But I think it's a wee bit disingenuous to suggest it's as easy as waving a magic wand and watching all the house prices fall to Stockton levels. Even if the rate of new construction pentupled, it wouldn't lower house prices; at best it'd make them increase at a slightly slower rate. It's a good idea on its own for the purposes of environment and urban development, but pretending that it'd suddenly allow a day laborer or a teacher's aide to be able to afford rent or ownership here adds as little as the people saying tech workers are source of all evil in the world.

seanflyon 11y ago
You don't need to bring prices down to Stockton levels to avoid San Francisco level problems.