Half Of Bay Area Residents Thinking About Leaving Over Home Prices
(KCBS) - Home prices in the Bay Area are so high that half of all local residents are thinking about leaving, new research suggests.
According to UC Berkeley's Institute of Governmental Studies, 65% of Bay Area voters think affordability is an extremely serious problem. 51% of voters have "thought" about giving up and moving.
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This summer, the Bay Area's median home price hit $804,000. That very well could be the last straw, considering the number of Bay Area residents who are thinking about throwing in the towel and heading for more reasonably-priced regions of the country.
Compounding the problem is the problem, in so many areas, of exorbitant rents.
Some relief may be on the horizon.
Last week, California legislators passed a series of bills supporters say would jumpstart housing construction, "an historic package of 15 bills that not only invest in building housing but moves forward streamlining housing creation as well as holding cities accountable that haven't been building housing at all," Assemblymember David Chiu (D-San Francisco) said.
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"If you don't actually build housing when you say you're going to, folks can bring lawsuits against you," said Chiu. "The state can come down on you, we can withhold funding and make life difficult for you."
