"S.F. apartment rent rises as vacancy rates fall" (San Francisco: apartments, renters)

[mayorhaggar]

S.F. apartment rent rises as vacancy rates fall


Yaaay! Whilst the Rest Of Us either can't find work or have seen our wages stagnate or even go down, tech companies hiring CS majors just out of Stanford or UC are having a hiring war...gotta wonder about bubbles. Combine that with the fact that nationally a lot of people are being pushed into the rental market because they either can't get loans or afford them, and you get very tight rental markets in places like SF or Silicon Valley.

Apartment hunting in San Francisco has turned into a competitive sport with hopeful renters swarming open houses and experiencing more rejections than contestants on "Survivor."


"You have to pounce as soon as you see an ad you like," said Chris Covert, a manager at Symantec who was among 18 people vying for a $1,395 Nob Hill studio last week. "It's definitely nuts."

Must be quite a manager...

This stuck out for me though, keep it in mind:

Over in the East Bay, the rental market is not as hot, with rates and vacancies holding steady.

I went through a similar tough market in 2007 in SF. Here's some tips in general for getting an apartment in SF:

- always bring a copy of your credit report to viewings so you can show the landlord, and get one that shows your credit score number. Once they look at your credit score they will often let you get the place. Also bring a filled-out generic rental application, even if the landlord won't take it and insists you fill out one of their forms, you at least already have your info ready to copy over.

- If you see a place you like, immediately pounce on it. Ask the landlord if you can put down a deposit, be pushy and firm but don't be obnoxious. Unlike most other rental markets you won't be able to go look at 20 places then mull over your options and call up the first place you looked at, by that time it WILL be taken. BUT be careful about apartments, a lot of them especially in SF are really dumpy and might look nice but have horrible flaws. Check all the fixtures and kitchen appliances (stove, fridge etc) and look in all the nooks and crannies to make sure there isn't something horrible that isn't in plain sight like a big mold spot or a mouse hole or whatever.

- If all else fails, try Oakland.

[humboldtrat]

I can't wait for the next "I'm moving from the east coast - can I get an apartment for $700/month in San Fran?" question.

Sorry Mayorhaggar! I wrote "San Fran" on purpose just to make your day!

[lucillenyc]

This makes me glad I am moving to Oakland when my lease is up! (Though maybe I am crazy to give up an apt in SF the way things are now ...)

[dmode]

I don't know if you guys saw this. Nick Bolton, the NYT technology reporter and author of the bits blog recently moved from NYC to SF (may be he was one of the east coast to SF posters here..lol). Here's his experience.

Tech and the San Francisco Rental Bubble - NYTimes.com