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In a strange turn of events, rent levels and home prices have diverged across the country. Home values increased in all of the 100 largest metros in the U.S. But in some of the richest cities—rent prices fell, many by double-digit percentages.
Why is this very unusual trend happening? Like so many other financial and social matters, it might be the economic divide. The pandemic has unfortunately widened the gap between those who are thriving financially and those who are barely scraping by. While the stock market continues to go up, making wealthy people even wealthier, millions of Americans remain unemployed and struggling. And the same is happening in our housing market. As demand for homes soars and prices are increasing at a much faster pace than incomes, high-end homeowners are seeing their property values skyrocket. Meanwhile, those looking to purchase low to middle-tier houses are finding it difficult to even afford a place.  But they're not ending up where you might think. SF residents are indeed leaving the city in droves, but they're not going very far. We keep hearing about this mass exodus to more affordable places like Austin or Denver, but USPS data shows that they're mostly heading across the bridges to other Bay Area counties including Alameda, San Mateo, and Marin. Maybe after things return to normal(ish), everyone will want to head back to the city again and there will finally be more inventory everywhere else!
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