Friday, April 16, 2004
I was thinking about Rents and available units and what people imagine is 'market rate' these days.
I think renters have one idea of 'market rate' and owners/landlords have an entirely different one. We talk about getting more units onto the market so that prices will go down... but owners probably don't want to buy into that idea, right? I think that if the small property owners got what they wanted (and I think, in many cases, they should) and they felt comfortable putting their rental unit back on the market, they'd put a price tag on it that would dishearten many a renter. Or would it?
Looking at the numbers from the 2000 census:
Average income in SF is $52K, average in District 5 is approximately $37K. Federal guidelines (I searched the web trying to find specifics, with no luck) say that one should spend no more than 30% of income on housing. Ideally, we could create a market where that measure works. What would that look like?
If we managed to create that market: average rent in SF: $1300 a month. Average rent in District 5: $925. 'Average' of course, implies some more, some less. Can we do it? Would owners think in those sorts of numbers? Maybe... would renters be ready for an average of $1300? could be.
I think renters have one idea of 'market rate' and owners/landlords have an entirely different one. We talk about getting more units onto the market so that prices will go down... but owners probably don't want to buy into that idea, right? I think that if the small property owners got what they wanted (and I think, in many cases, they should) and they felt comfortable putting their rental unit back on the market, they'd put a price tag on it that would dishearten many a renter. Or would it?
Looking at the numbers from the 2000 census:
Average income in SF is $52K, average in District 5 is approximately $37K. Federal guidelines (I searched the web trying to find specifics, with no luck) say that one should spend no more than 30% of income on housing. Ideally, we could create a market where that measure works. What would that look like?
If we managed to create that market: average rent in SF: $1300 a month. Average rent in District 5: $925. 'Average' of course, implies some more, some less. Can we do it? Would owners think in those sorts of numbers? Maybe... would renters be ready for an average of $1300? could be.
