Does San Francisco seem slightly less terrifyingly expensive today than it did four weeks ago? According to rental site Abodo, it should.
In Abodo’s midyear rent report rounding up trends in apartment prices for the first six months of the year in major cities, on average San Francisco rents declined 1.2 percent per month (on Abodo, that is) since the beginning of 2017.
That adds up to $3,240/month for a single bedroom and $4,363/month on average for a two bedroom home.
That’s nice and all, but for a year and a half sites like Abodo have told us prices are in decline, and it never seems to translate to real savings for renters.
This same time last year the site had it that a one bedroom apartment in San Francisco costs just $50/month more than today.
The difference in two bedrooms is less than a $100. Every little bit helps, but renters can only hear that so many times. Are these numbers for real or not?
Abodo spokesperson Sam Radbil tells Curbed SF that the rental platform can only report the figures it has, and suggests that if homes aren’t getting more affordable it’s an infrastructure issue, not a data analysis one.
“We are confident that it all starts with development,” Radbil says. “I don’t need to explain supply and demand to anyone.
“The price on new buildings is going to drive up the average and median, but at the same time as you get more apartments, landlords have less leverage and the price on more affordable places will decline.”
Paragon Real Estate estimates that San Francisco is set to build over 2,762 new homes in 2017, with almost three times as much new rental stock as homes for sale planned.
But the city Planning Department still estimates population growth of at least 10,000 new residents per year.
The city has approved nearly 40,000 additional homes for 2018 and beyond. But more than three quarters of those are in large multi-stage developments like Treasure Island and Hunters Point and have not yet begun construction.
So the amount of new housing relative to the city’s population is up, but only a little. And rents are down, but only a little.
That at least seems to add up at face value. But the question of when if ever renters will get more than a nickel and dime break every year lingers.
- Midyear Rent Report [Abodo]
- Real Estate Report, June 2017 [Paragon]
- SF Population Growing Way Faster Than Housing [Curbed SF]
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