Though ‘cheap’ is a relative term.
San Francisco’s famously high apartment rents are roughly $500 lower now than at the start of the pandemic three years ago, writes Marcus White in the San Francisco Examiner, the only metro area with over 1 million residents with lower rents now than in 2020.
However, “San Francisco remained firmly entrenched as the second-most expensive city behind New York in March, with a median one-bedroom apartment costing $3,000 and a two-bedroom place costing $4,000.” Rents in other Bay Area cities, meanwhile, remained flat or rose since 2020.
Despite the apparent relief, White notes, renting a one-bedroom apartment without becoming rent-burdened requires an income of over $120,000. But when “Nearly 39% of households [in the city] make no more than $99,000,” affordable housing remains out of reach for many residents.
FULL STORY: SF rent $500 cheaper than at pandemic's start, new report shows
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