Wednesday, June 19, 2013

WTF? The NYT is en fuego

Why in the world has happened to the NYTimes?  They have started publishing subversive, crackpot stuff that I actually agree with.   The world turned upside down.

San Francisco's housing market.

Excerpt:


The City by the Bay is going through one of its worst housing shortages in memory. With typical high demand intensified by a regional boom in tech jobs, apartment open houses are mob scenes of desperate applicants clutching their credit reports. The citywide median rental price for a one-bedroom is $2,764 a month, but jumps to $3,500 in trendy areas.

One reason for the shortage? Me. I’ve recently joined the ranks of San Francisco landlords who have decided that it’s better to keep an apartment empty than to lease it to tenants. Together, we have left vacant about 10,600 rental units. That’s about five percent of the city’s total — or enough space to house up to 30,000 people in a city that barely tops 800,000. I feel a twinge of guilt for those who want to settle in this glorious city but can’t find a flat. 

But after renting out a one-bedroom apartment in my home for several years, I will never do it again. San Francisco’s anti-landlord housing laws and political climate make it untenable.

The City by the Bay!  The City where there is NOWHERE to Sleep!

If you want to rock it old school, check out the famed Friedman-Stigler pamphlet on price controls.  Nearly 70 years old now, and caused a big kerfuffle at FEE when it was published.  (Thanks to WH for this last link!)

No comments: