[Open House Madness via Abby Pontzer]
A report put out by RealFacts, a company that analyzes rental data, shows that average rental prices increased by 10.4 and 12.2 percent in 2011 for the greater San Francisco and San Jose markets. This should come as no surprise. The latest tech boom means there's an influx of wealthy renters looking to nest in the city, and they can afford to pay top dollar and even start a bidding war if they want. Pair that with the growing number of rent-controlled units that are now exclusively being advertised as short-term vacation rentals instead of housing for actual residents of San Francisco, and we're surprised the average rental prices haven't increased more. "We've reached a point where there's nothing out there," said Craig Berendt, a broker with Berendt Properties. "People are knocking down my door to get an apartment." Of course, this also provides further proof that San Francisco's middle class is close to extinct. "I see our middle class really starting to dissipate," Berendt said. "Obviously we don't want that. We want a well-balanced class system, but the rents are just going through the roof." Our advice? Don't move. Ever. But if you have to, Abby's handy guide to scoring an apartment in San Francisco will really help.
· Bay Area leads nation in rental price increases [SF Examiner]
· The Chosen One [Curbed SF]
· No Meth Pipe Left Behind: Hotel Unions Asleep at the Wheel? [Curbed SF]
· San Francisco: Vacation Rentals On the Rise [Curbed SF]
· Abby's Seeking Shelter archives [Curbed SF]
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