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Still renting in San Francisco? Smooth move.

June 13, 2012 | Filed under: Lifestyle,San Francisco, CA | Posted by: Kombucha

If you’re a San Francisco renter who has questioned your decision to keep renting as the local real estate market again spirals out of control, fear not. Noted industry experts say that you’re one smart cookie. San Francisco, along with the urban island oasis of Honolulu, is one of just two rental markets in the nation where it’s recommended to keep on renting, rather than trying to buy a home.

Why’s that? Well, it comes down to simple economics. With the price of purchasing a home in San Francisco again rocketing sky high, a monthly mortgage is going to be considerably higher than your rent, and it’s hard to tell whether the current price inflation will hold its value.

So what does that mean for those looking for a new rental in San Francisco? Well, expect to look a bit longer and perhaps pay more than you had planned to get the apartment you want. Consider expanding the neighborhood range of your search to give you more options. Public transportation is so easy to come by here that you shouldn’t have a problem getting where you need to go.

Here’s the good news: There are still lots of rentals available, despite the increase of jobs and new hires arriving to fill them from out of the area. Searching for the best apartment for you will simply take a bit of patience, time and likely a large first month + deposit.

Wondering what other factors are contributing to San Francisco’s steep priced, low availability market? Here’s a look at a few of the additional pressure points:

-AirBnB rentals – people are renting out their extra rooms/apartments/granny flats to tourists rather than permanent residents.

-America’s Cup – Not so much in the low-to-mid range market, but the high end rental markets are influenced by temporary visitors who will be here for next year’s sailing race.

-Lack of new development – It wasn’t that long ago that builders were putting off new projects due to lack of demand and a poor economy. Now they can’t put them up fast enough.

-All our new neighbors - Tech Boom 2 has brought new jobs and people to fill them to San Francisco, and all those folks have to live somewhere.