If you live in San Francisco or have been following real estate trends over the last several years, you know it’s expensive to live there … very expensive. According to Zillow.com, the median home value is currently at $1.2 million, and an average rental is about $3,600. Much of this, of course, is due to a booming tech industry, with its thousands of workers choosing the Bay Area for primary residence.
What’s often not discussed, however, is the robust commercial real estate market. While many companies are headquartered in Silicon Valley, where many San Franciscans are bused to every day, quite a few are stationed right in the city, creating a frenzy of demand for prime locations and plenty of dollars in the pockets of building owners.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, “More than five years into San Francisco’s tech run-up—a boom that has made the city a global powerhouse but also exacerbated its housing and homeless crises—the economic locomotive shows no sign of slowing down. So far this year, 17 tenants have signed leases for over 100,000 square feet each—eight more than in 2016 and tied with 2014 for the most ever.”
This means rents are projected to go up next year in a market that’s already the most expensive in the world. “Rents, which have soared 140 percent since 2010 and are now at an average of $74 a square foot, could go up another 10 percent, breaking the $80-a-square-foot average for the first time.”
Read more about the insane San Francisco tech-space market here.
