Here’s my question – and I think it gets to the heart of this debate – what were San Diego rents in 1995 and what are they today? And how do these numbers compare with the U.S. overall?

I think about aggregate real estate issues in pretty simple terms: follow the rents. If rents have increased at a greater rate in SD over the last 15 years than they have for the U.S. overall, then *something* has changed about SD vis-a-vis the nation at large over this period. Otherwise, arguably nothing’s really changed in relative terms.

The problem is that I can’t find SD-specific historical rent information although I’m sure it’s out there. That would be an interesting analysis and, in my view, would answer some questions.