Making It in the Bay

San Francisco Sees Dramatic Drop in Rent Prices

NBC Universal, Inc.

While rents are dipping in many cities throughout the Bay Area and the country, no place is seeing prices drop further or faster than San Francisco.

Michael Gasparovic is about to save a lot of money and, like many people who live in the city these days, he’s going to do it by moving out. 

"So I'm moving somewhere where I'm paying half the price, I can do my job just as well, and I'll be able to ski and surf and cycle,” he said.

For Gasparovic, Washington state is the new destination. 

According to a recent survey, enough renters are leaving the city that the typical studio apartment is down 30% over the last year, one bedrooms down 24% and two bedroom rents down 21%.

"We haven't seen anything like that,” said Anthemos Georgiades, Zumper CEO. Among the factors at work, a recession, and a huge boom in the companies that don't require you to come in to work. 

"It's the compound effect on the demand side of a recession, and the move to work from home, or the ability to work wherever you want," said Georgiades.

Another factor is that tech companies are still hiring in the Bay Area, but telling new employees that they don't have to move there -- yet.

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