Isn't the value of a house what someone is willing to pay for it? There are still a lot of people buying homes in the Bay Area to live in. There are just a lot of rich people in the area, so they're willing to pay the price that the market is setting.

> Isn't the value of a house what someone is willing to pay for it?

This is why it's being compared to crypto currency. The parent comment I was responding to said it's not a fair comparison but "it's worth what someone is willing to pay for it" describes both.

Real estate prices in the Bay Area are also driven by the boatloads of money coming into the area and then not going back out. Our local money supply has gone way up. After all, when local worker salaries go so far up, why wouldn’t the price of goods they’re bidding for go up too?

It isn't. If you look at residential income properties, they trade around the rents that they command, sometimes with some development potential sprinkled on top.