A two-bedroom, one bath, 765-square-foot house in 16 De Long Street, San Francisco was recently listed on the market for $350,000. The photo shows a small, dingy-looking abode, with paint chipping and cladding in shambles.
In the listing on SF Realtors, it states, "Distinguished home in need of work."
Make that a lot of work.
Apparently, this property is considered a bargain. According to Trulia, the average price per square foot in the Bay Area is $957. At $350,000, this fixer upper is only $458 per square foot.
This "bargain" is just another proof of San Francisco's housing crisis. Just this May, Socket Site reported that the average asking rent for an apartment in the area is around $3,400. According to SF Curbed, the median home price is over $1 million. Biz Journals estimated that to afford a comfortable home in San Francisco, one needs to earn at least $200,000 a year.
The numbers are alarming. Many historians and analysts have already weighed in on the situation. Kim-Mai Cutler of Tech Crunch has written a lengthy explanation as to why San Francisco is stuck with the even lengthier list of housing problems. To sum up, San Francisco's economy is booming, neighborhoods are changing, people are crowding the cities, and only 35 percent of the population are actual homeowners. The 65 percent are stuck with expensive rentals.
The US Chamber of Commerce suggests a solution: build more homes. When there is an increased number of housing, there is also increased progress. "More construction will at the very least help prevent housing prices from rising further," its article states. "Creating jobs should mean creating housing for those with jobs. The basic idea should be to allow people the space to flourish, instead of tying down their capital or forcing them to flee."
