General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: With Soaring Rents and a Vanishing Middle Class, San Francisco Becomes a City for the Rich [View all]still_one
(98,883 posts)problem is foreign investment and speculation against the locals. Somehow that need to be restricted. If you have a local bidding on a house, and a foreign investment comes in willing to pay cash, at a high inflated price, the local loses out.
They really have to limit foreign investment in the real estate market in the U.S.
A lot of rents have skyrocketed because of the Googles, high tech, and financial companies. However, a lot of people do not work for those companies, and even for those that do, they are still paying 50% plus of their salary for housing. It is really messed up for those coming into the market new in California.
While higher interest rates normally would decrease R.E. prices, due to foreign investment, who pay cash, I don't think higher interest rates will bring it down significantly.
They have rent control in SF, but landlords are finding ways around that also.