Forget Mame: Realtors Are To Blame for San Francisco’s Housing Crisis

The Following is a True Story:

"Rents are skyrocketing in San Francisco because state law prevents the city from restricting rent increases on vacant apartments. Realtors get all the credit for putting the city in this policy straitjacket. In 1995, realtors’ won passage of the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act"

"Absent Costa-Hawkins, San Francisco rents on most vacant apartments would be at least 25-50% cheaper today. In cases like the Hayes Valley 1 bdrm units now advertised for over $4000, the rent would likely be 50%- 75% less."

"Realtors, not progressives, are also to blame for the fear of Ellis Act evictions throughout San Francisco... realtors have fought in Sacramento the past two years to preserve speculators right to evict longterm tenants for profit—a point too often overlooked in assessments of San Francisco’s housing crisis."

"Strong rent control and eviction protections are the core prerequisites for maintaining affordable housing. That’s why Richmond’s enactment of both measures last week is so critical (see my piece, “Richmond 1, Gentrification 0”)."

"Realtors have denied San Francisco the most potent strategies to protect affordable housing, which would be the enactment of vacancy controls and preventing speculator Ellis evictions. They should be called to account for what their policies have wrought."

(Excerpted From:)

Blame Realtors for SF’s Housing Crisis

by Randy Shaw