Rents in the City by the Bay are high enough, second only to New York among major cities. But sky-high purchase prices still put the city on the rent side of the equation.
San Francisco is such a constricted market, according to Leslie Appleton-Young, chief economist for the California Association of Realtors, that purchase prices tend to remain very high. Plus, the major industries there -- such as tech and software -- have withstood the recession very well.
"San Francisco is a city of renters," said Appleton-Young, "with more than 50% of its residents renting."
Many of those renters are affluent, however, and when the opportunities to buy arise, they do, keeping purchase prices strong.
That should continue this year, according to Trulia spokeswoman Tara-Nichole Nelson.
"Job growth will be strongest among the very people who can afford to live there," she said.
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