The fight between Airbnb and San Francisco just got nastier

[Jesus Malverde]

Airbnb housing could be cutting into San Francisco's rental market, taking as much as 40 percent of potential rentals off the market in some neighborhoods, according to a new report released yesterday by the city.

The report calculated that approximately 2,000 entire housing units, or 23 percent of current available vacant units, have been removed from the housing market because of Airbnb rentals.

That's a big deal as San Francisco is facing a shortage of affordable housing. Average rents are up 15% from last year, according to stats recently released by real-estate site Zillow, and it's the most expensive city in the U.S. to rent an apartment, at an average of more than $3,400 a month, according to real-estate marketplace Zumper.

But Airbnb panned the city's evaluation of its impact and released a new memorandum of its own to show the money the city could lose from taxes if it adopts a plan to limit the number of days units can be rented to 60.

http://www.sfgate.com/technology/businessinsider/article/The-fight-between-Airbnb-and-San-Francisco-just-6267230.php

[NYC_SKP]

1. That city, to me, is so not worth living in. I have friends there but prefer the Oakland Hills.

Or Alameda, for different reasons.

I don't mind visiting, used to work there, but don't care for the congestion and, to be honest, find New Yorkers more friendly, generally, on the street.

I live south of SF now, on the coast, nice and quiet.

[daredtowork]

2. Berkeley has the same concerns about AirBnB

They are currently looking at taxing AirBnB rentals, but given the extremity of the current housing crisis, other measures may be taken. Given the frequent mentions of AirBnB at recent City Council meetings, I'm sure our political establishment is reading this report as we speak.

Just found out the Google Bus now comes to Ashby BART, too.