The housing costs in the Bay Area are primarily caused by 300k salaries from companies in the area. It's not going to crumble immediately, but I can imagine that if the (to-be-)recession drags on, there's be a downward pressure on both salary and housing prices (and other costs of living). Nobody is going to cut your pay in half, but those 8k/month rents are just a function of the demand (of housing) and supply (of money) in the area, not really a law of nature..