Is San Francisco Rent Finally Decreasing?

San Francisco rent: The bane of every San Franciscan’s existence. Anyone who currently lives in the city, or who is moving there, feels the excruciating pain of San Francisco rent prices being unbearably high. In fact, in the last few years The City by The Bay has managed to win the title of ‘most expensive city in the county.’ But the skyrocketing trend is actually changing its direction, and slowly (very slowly) starting to exhibit some downward growth. Yes, you read that correctly: Rent prices in San Francisco are finally starting to decrease. According to Abodo’s 2016 October report, rent’s have decreased 6 percent. The median price for a one-bedroom apartment reduced an estimated $223 from September 2016 to October 2016. While this sounds like great news, this still leaves the average one bedroom apartment to $3,492/month though. It’s hard to get excited about that still, but hey, can’t complain about cheaper rent. It’s important to note that this report has a small sample size, but other reports are indicating a similar trend too. According to a quarterly report by the apartment data firm Axiometrics, San Francisco has experienced an overall 0.51% decrease the last quarter. Other major big cities in the U.S. are on the same reducing-rent trend like New York City. With the anticipated downfall for rent prices in San Francisco though, rent prices are unfortunately increasing in Oakland. According to the same Adobo report, Oakland rent has increased 5 percent from September 2016 to October 2016. Here’s the Adobo graph displaying how some California cities compare to similar major cities and their rent trends.   While it’s impossible to predict what will happen with San Francisco rent, it’s hard to imagine it can get more expensive than it already is. The exciting news it that this election will allow voters to weigh in on the city’s housing crisis. Propositions C, M, P and U will all impact the future of affordable housing in San Francisco. You can brush up on the issues here.