News for hackers. Stuff that matters.

A comment on Rent Control Creates Higher Rents in SF. Parent comment

Re:Rent Control Creates Higher Rents in SF by timr on Monday March 16, 2015 @10:19PM (#9215900)
Yes, I'm ignoring your completely unsupported hypothetical about subsidies.

You don't need to invent fancy theories to explain rents in SF: we're in a demand bubble, driven by the influx of venture-funded tech companies into the city. This is neither new, nor surprising.

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Rent Control Creates Higher Rents in SF by spankalee on Monday March 16, 2015 @10:50PM (#9215995)
I totally agree that we're in a demand bubble, but it's exacerbated by rent control and the historical difficulty of building new units.

This isn't a very fancy theory, it just effects supply and demand. I don't think you'll find many economists who would disagree with the assertion that rent control reduces supply, thus driving up prices. That reduction is caused by people incentivized to stay in a unit when they otherwise might have moved.

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Rent Control Creates Higher Rents in SF by timr on Monday March 16, 2015 @11:02PM (#9216040)
Exacerbated by how much? Is the effect bigger or smaller than the huge, obvious and clearly explained demand changes over the past few years?
[ Parent | on HN ]