Richmond District apartment rents climb 15% in past year; Sunset 28%
by Thomas K. Pendergast
Like a mushroom cloud, rents are rising from the City's recent tech-boom, due to the number of technology workers and other young professionals now moving into the area south of Market Street.
During the past year, the blast wave from this Twitter-sparked explosion has hit both the Richmond and Sunset districts, pushing rents up and low-income people out.
"With rents going up in the Mission District and other core rental areas, we're seeing more tenants coming into our office from the west side than we used to see," says Ted Gullicksen, director of the San Francisco Tenants Union. "The vacancy rate in San Francisco is low right now. Whenever the vacancy rate gets low rents increase, and so do evictions.
"High-tech workers are moving into the east side of the City. The impact is that it's forcing renters who don't have that much money to be looking farther and farther away to the western neighborhoods."
The Tenants Union keeps track of rental rates. Gullicksen says for two-bedroom apartments, which are the steadiest rentals in both districts right now, rents increased by 23 percent in the Sunset District since last year, from a monthly average of $1,957 to $2,398. Richmond District rents increased by 15 percent, from a monthly average of $2,107 to $2,431.
Apparently, evictions and "buyouts" are also billowing up from the tech boom.
"Citywide, we've been seeing an increase in evictions filed with the Rent Board and there's been a significant increase in buyouts in the past year," Gullicksen said.
He explains that a common method is for a landlord to threaten eviction on some pretext; then offer to buy the tenant out of the lease or agreement with incentives like extra money for moving expenses.
"Sometimes the tenant makes a small breach of the agreement that most of the time would be overlooked by the landlord but they'll use that as an excuse to evict, so they can charge more, now that rents are going up," he said.
Rose Marie Dennis, the director of San Francisco's Housing Authority, says low-income people, senior citizens and veterans are having a rough time dealing with what was already a highly inflated market. Her agency handles both affordable housing and Section 8 housing. The San Francisco waiting lists for both are full and closed because the demand far exceeds the supply.
"Low income people are having a very hard time staying in San Francisco because the rents are going crazy," says Dennis. "It's a landlord's market. If you're a landlord, why would you want Section 8 or low-income tenants when you can have young, upwardly-mobile college graduates?"
Dennis says her agency is now pushing vouchers for moving former members of the armed services into housing reserved for veterans.
"The homeless veterans are having a difficult time right now. I get them coming to me all the time," she said.
Last month, the SF Board of Supervisors approved legislation for constructing 375 residential units at 220-square-feet each. Called micro-apartments, they can house only two people per unit and are seen as one method for relieving some pressure on the rental market by providing space for seniors, lower-income single people and students.
Charley Goss, the government and community affairs coordinator with the San Francisco Apartment Association, has also noticed the rising rents, although he is hesitant to read too much into this trend right now. He noted that there has not been much new housing built in the past few years and this is only partly explained by the City's development policies. It also has a lot to do with the bad economy of the last decade.
"It's a little bit of both," says Goss. "People were nervous to try and develop a project with an uncertain economy, plus the City doesn't make it easy to develop because of permitting, zoning issues and restrictions on how tall a building can be. There's also a lot of active neighborhood groups to oppose development projects."
But just as in the latter half of the '90s - when the "dot.com" tech boom exploded the rental and housing markets, only to have the City's technology trade implode spectacularly just after the last turn of the century – there's no telling if or when this bubble might burst.
"Some fear that we could be putting ourselves into a bubble but I wouldn't really read too much into that. It could be too early to tell," says Goss. "I think it's significant that so many companies shuttle their employees down to Silicon Valley. These shuttles make it possible to live here. That influx of tech workers has increased the demand for housing and they get compensated enough to pay the higher rents."
Like a mushroom cloud, rents are rising from the City's recent tech-boom, due to the number of technology workers and other young professionals now moving into the area south of Market Street.
During the past year, the blast wave from this Twitter-sparked explosion has hit both the Richmond and Sunset districts, pushing rents up and low-income people out.
"With rents going up in the Mission District and other core rental areas, we're seeing more tenants coming into our office from the west side than we used to see," says Ted Gullicksen, director of the San Francisco Tenants Union. "The vacancy rate in San Francisco is low right now. Whenever the vacancy rate gets low rents increase, and so do evictions.
"High-tech workers are moving into the east side of the City. The impact is that it's forcing renters who don't have that much money to be looking farther and farther away to the western neighborhoods."
The Tenants Union keeps track of rental rates. Gullicksen says for two-bedroom apartments, which are the steadiest rentals in both districts right now, rents increased by 23 percent in the Sunset District since last year, from a monthly average of $1,957 to $2,398. Richmond District rents increased by 15 percent, from a monthly average of $2,107 to $2,431.
Apparently, evictions and "buyouts" are also billowing up from the tech boom.
"Citywide, we've been seeing an increase in evictions filed with the Rent Board and there's been a significant increase in buyouts in the past year," Gullicksen said.
He explains that a common method is for a landlord to threaten eviction on some pretext; then offer to buy the tenant out of the lease or agreement with incentives like extra money for moving expenses.
"Sometimes the tenant makes a small breach of the agreement that most of the time would be overlooked by the landlord but they'll use that as an excuse to evict, so they can charge more, now that rents are going up," he said.
Rose Marie Dennis, the director of San Francisco's Housing Authority, says low-income people, senior citizens and veterans are having a rough time dealing with what was already a highly inflated market. Her agency handles both affordable housing and Section 8 housing. The San Francisco waiting lists for both are full and closed because the demand far exceeds the supply.
"Low income people are having a very hard time staying in San Francisco because the rents are going crazy," says Dennis. "It's a landlord's market. If you're a landlord, why would you want Section 8 or low-income tenants when you can have young, upwardly-mobile college graduates?"
Dennis says her agency is now pushing vouchers for moving former members of the armed services into housing reserved for veterans.
"The homeless veterans are having a difficult time right now. I get them coming to me all the time," she said.
Last month, the SF Board of Supervisors approved legislation for constructing 375 residential units at 220-square-feet each. Called micro-apartments, they can house only two people per unit and are seen as one method for relieving some pressure on the rental market by providing space for seniors, lower-income single people and students.
Charley Goss, the government and community affairs coordinator with the San Francisco Apartment Association, has also noticed the rising rents, although he is hesitant to read too much into this trend right now. He noted that there has not been much new housing built in the past few years and this is only partly explained by the City's development policies. It also has a lot to do with the bad economy of the last decade.
"It's a little bit of both," says Goss. "People were nervous to try and develop a project with an uncertain economy, plus the City doesn't make it easy to develop because of permitting, zoning issues and restrictions on how tall a building can be. There's also a lot of active neighborhood groups to oppose development projects."
But just as in the latter half of the '90s - when the "dot.com" tech boom exploded the rental and housing markets, only to have the City's technology trade implode spectacularly just after the last turn of the century – there's no telling if or when this bubble might burst.
"Some fear that we could be putting ourselves into a bubble but I wouldn't really read too much into that. It could be too early to tell," says Goss. "I think it's significant that so many companies shuttle their employees down to Silicon Valley. These shuttles make it possible to live here. That influx of tech workers has increased the demand for housing and they get compensated enough to pay the higher rents."
Diverse populations are the cornerstone of great cities. San Francisco suffered grievously, in my opinion, in the last tech boom. The black population, facilitated by developer-owned Mayor Brown, was forced out of the City; artists and other creative forces left town; and we were left with finger boys throwing money around and raising the cost of living for everyone. Now it's happening all over again and again facilitated by developer-bought politicians. Guess the Spanish in the Mission will be next. Maybe San Francisco will become like Atlantic City: domestic workers, police and fire, restaurant employees and other non-tech folks will be bused in every day to keep the fingers moving.
ReplyDeleteI moved out here on Ocean Beach to get away from the pervasive tech "culture." Ocean Beach used to be a laid back, diverse, surfer community. Now the finger people have arrived. I really don't like this new crop of young techies. Out-of-shape, slightly overweight dudes, many with iconic beards, stomp past my home every morning with laptop bags and white ear phones dangling peering at their smart phones. When they pass they don't look at you, don't smile, don't introduce themselves. They pass one like robots.
Why the hell investors fund tech businesses in San Francisco and the Bay in general mystifies me. Much investor money would be saved and profitability improved if they built finger people enclaves in a place like New Mexico with cheap living.
I know many will be unhappy with this perspective of mine, but I'm in a class that's being pushed out by these people and I'm tired of seeing my City becoming a cash-focused tech mono-culture. Whoa. I may be put on a tech "kill" list. I see fierce-looking Audi A4s with burning LED lights prowling my hood.
I must add that I know a number of techies, as poor and pressured as I, who work on open source projects and/or create freeware and shareware. They create for the love of it and truly benefit others. Their products are as good or, most often, superior to those with a price tag. People who talk about having a passion for this or that and work building sophisticated marketing information systems disguised as social interaction vehicles have little respect from me. These "free-minded individuals" are busy making sure other minds are enslaved. The only passion they have is for money. My opinion of course.
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