San Francisco : Disneyland For Yuppies?
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San Francisco is forcing out the middle class from the city. The city has bifurcated. 
To live there you either have to be very well off or qualify for subsidies. The large middle class has been pushed out to the suburbs.
Of course, when you have a government that puts excessive regulation on the construction of new housing, how can you have anything different. Not letting the marketplace work and new housing be constructed creates a shortage and thus huge appreciations.
New construction typically takes years to get approved and then legislators and bureaucrats demand mandates for affordable housing added to every project. The legislature has created the environment they say they are trying to avoid.
A Disneyland for Yuppies.
Many worry it’s increasingly turning San Francisco into an enclave of the rich, where nurses, firefighters, cops, teachers and other professionals aspiring toward homeownership or in need of cheaper rent can no longer afford to stay.
“A kind of derogatory term for the city would be Disneyland for yuppies,” said Hans Johnson, demographer with the Public Policy Institute of California. “There is a legitimate public policy concern when a city that many people have lived in for many years and regard as their homes becomes so expensive they can’t afford to live there anymore.”
From 2002 to 2006, the number of households making up to $49,000 per year dropped by 7.4 percent, those earning between $50,000 and $99,999 declined by 4.4 percent, and those bringing home between $100,000 and $149,999 fell by 3.9 percent, according to Census Bureau estimates. In polar opposition, the number of households making between $150,000 and $199,999 surged 52.2 percent and those earning more than $200,000 climbed 40.1 percent. via the SF Gate
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Comment by Alex Clark on 23 June 2008:
I think I might just have to quote you on this:
“Of course, when you have a government that puts excessive regulation on the construction of new housing, how can you have anything different. Not letting the marketplace work and new housing be constructed creates a shortage and thus huge appreciations.”
Well said!
Comment by Heath Coker on 23 June 2008:
And you might actually call it “Disneyland for Gyuppies” in light of the CA court system. LOL
Comment by Jim Mc on 24 June 2008:
Or perhaps the government regulations contribute to the quality of life that attracts wealthy residents who then bid up the price of buying in?
And of course (he says sarcastically) there is no impact from sellers who up their selling price to whatever the market will bear or land owners willing to take a higher price which has to be passed on to the unit buyers. And of course in the absence of government regulation, developers will eagerly jump on the opportunity to build affordable housing and make less profits.
Or perhaps the issue is a little more complex.
Pingback by Blame the Government | Jameson on 24 June 2008:
[...] San Francisco: Disneyland for Yuppies? via The Real Estate Bloggers - “San Francisco is forcing out the middle class from the city. The city has bifurcated. To live there you either have to be very well off or qualify for subsidies. The large middle class has been pushed out to the suburbs…..Of course, when you have a government that puts excessive regulation on the construction of new housing, how can you have anything different. Not letting the marketplace work and new housing be constructed creates a shortage and thus huge appreciations.” [...]