Photo: Rex Boggs/Flickr
A new report by online rental marketplace Apartment List has examined the correlation between job growth and housing growth in the 50 largest US metropolitan areas. The verdict? San Jose and San Francisco ranked as the number one and number two most undersupplied housing markets, respectively.
Only 10 of the nation’s 50 largest metros have been keeping up with housing demand, which means 80 percent of urban dwellers are feeling the strain.
San Francisco added three jobs for every new housing permit between 2005 and 2010, and 6.8 new jobs for every new housing permit between 2010 and 2015. Surrounding Bay Area counties only added one housing unit for every 1.8 jobs during that ten year period.
As many urbanites can attest to, it’s typically the suburbs that experience the most new construction, while the inner city booms with job growth, ultimately leading to longer and longer commute times.
The lack of affordable housing in urban areas has created a divide between those who can afford to pay the rent, and those who are pushed further and further away from the core. “With supply failing to increase in line with demand, rents have been increasing to levels that are only affordable to those with the highest-paying jobs,” the report states.
Studies like this support the YIMBY (Yes In My Backyard) ideology that housing in gentrifying areas needs to be built ASAP in order for cities to flourish, despite height restrictions or neighborhoods potentially losing their intrinsic character.
The conclusion aptly sums up the mood in the Bay Area, “As demand continues to rise, supply must respond accordingly or the current affordability crisis being experienced in many parts of the country will only be exacerbated.” City planners, take note.
