Given your interest in urban planning, what are your thoughts on what could realistically cause housing prices to decline in the Bay Area? Particularly interested in the Peninsula.
The main thing I've kept my eye on is interest rates, but there are obviously other factors. I'm not convinced rising interest rates would even have that much impact--there will always be people with more money who want to live here for the weather/culture/food/location.
I haven't studied it (the specifics of what is going on in SF) well enough to make specific recommendations for San Francisco. If I were on a task force looking for answers, I would start by reading everything I could get my hands on concerning a) California real estate taxes and b) rent control. I would look for studies, I would look for what we can quantifiably show has a measurable impact.
Then I would look at trying to find ways to incentivize making small spaces with housing basics more available.
I would also look at economic factors like the fact that you can live in SF without a car, so some people can afford the nosebleed rental prices because they are paying only for rent rather than rent plus a car. And I would consider creating a PR program around that angle. Walkable communities typically are more expensive, because humans value the high quality of life they afford, and they are mostly zoned out of existence. A lot of things that historically created walkable communities cannot be recreated under modern car-centric zoning laws.
Edit: To be clear, those are things I would start with, not everything I would do.
Thanks for sharing. Since the Peninsula doesn't have rent control, but DOES have Prop 13, it has separate circumstances, but still many of the same symptoms.
The main thing I've kept my eye on is interest rates, but there are obviously other factors. I'm not convinced rising interest rates would even have that much impact--there will always be people with more money who want to live here for the weather/culture/food/location.