I agree, and think that a decline in housing prices is not only good for the renters like us (for selfish reasons), but for the greater SD community in general. For example, housing costs are a great impediment to hiring. At my institution (a university) we have lost several excellent job candidates due to high housing prices. These people were initially attracted to San Diego by the intellectual resources, the weather and all the funky things that California has to offer. In years past, they would nearly always come from places like the Midwest. But recently, the financial trade-offs simply became to large, and a midwestern scientist often sees no net benefit in trading a nice large home in a nice, comfortable, educated, walkable communities (e.g., Ann Arbor, Bloomington) for a tiny home in commuter suburbs. For us, local recruiters, it is also progressively heard to point out the virtues of the “California dream” while showing the candidates “affordable” 600K tract homes 30 minutes from the university, surrounded by strip malls and chain restaurants.
So, yes, please, keep creating more inventory and crashing those crazy, so San Diego can lure the best and the brightest here! Or, give us bay area wages, nature, and restaurants!
