By Christian Britschgi | Reason
The country’s priciest cities are seeing massive declines in rents as people who are now free to work remotely and unable to enjoy the typical amenities of urban living decamp for less expensive metros.
Tucked away in this trend is a lesson for cities: Building more housing is the key to solving affordability problems.
San Francisco has also seen the largest price declines. Rents for studio apartments there have declined by 31 percent year over year there, according to a new reportfrom Realtor.com. Rents for one- and two-bedroom units declined by 24 percent and 20 percent respectively.
“What we’re seeing is really the move away from high cost, particularly in urban downtowns, toward the suburbs and toward affordability,” said Realtor.com senior economist George Ratiu to the San Francisco Chronicle. The embrace of remote work among tech employers concentrated in the Bay Area and Silicon Valley is why those areas have seen the largest price drops, he told the Chronicle.
