We Need HOW Much More Housing?
SFModernCondos Team's Matt Fuller, "babysitting" at home, recapped some hair-raising housing stats from a recent panel hosted by a who's who in S.F. real estate acronyms (WCR, SFAR, CREAA, AREAA). In the last four years, S.F. has built less than 10,000 new homes—but 40,000 people have moved in. Of the 30,000 units of housing in the pipeline the next six years, roughly 20,000 are in three developments (Park Merced, Treasure Island, and The Shipyard in Hunter's Point). S.F. needs to build about 4,000 to 5,000 new homes a year just to keep pace with population growth. And there are almost a dozen projects in the pipeline within a one-block radius of Market & Van Ness totaling about 5,000 new homes.
Polaris Pacific principal Chris Foley pointed out the new amenity package is the neighborhood. He also says the Planning Department doesn't determine what will be rented and what will be sold, but most of the pipeline will likely be rentals. One example of a brisk rental: Twitter's neighbor NEMA, where all 700-plus units (example above) are rented at about $5/SF; that means a 600 SF apartment is about $3,000/month. Current hot development areas are Rincon Hill and Market Street, say panelists, and the next spot to watch rise is the Caltrain Yard at 4th & King.
