> "Clearly, higher density construction in NYC has dramatically reduce prices there."
They have.[1]
Or more accurately, they have prevented the exact sort of rent explosion that SF is experiencing now. Manhattan is expensive to live in - but rent prices are growing at predictable and relatively low rates. There are even desirable, wealthy neighborhoods where rents are slowly decreasing.
The fact is also that artificially restricting oneself to Manhattan makes for a easier comparison to SF, but is not representative of the housing situation overall. Commuting from Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx into Manhattan is trivially easy, and rent (even if we strictly limit ourselves to the low-crime, desirable sections of these boroughs) is lower than SF.
Take Brooklyn[2] for example. Plenty of good, safe neighborhoods with solid subway access where prices are flat.
You'd have to include BART-accessible Oakland, Berkeley, etc in the East Bay to make that comparison fair. 40 min is the farthest any of the BART lines go from downtown SF.
They have.[1]
Or more accurately, they have prevented the exact sort of rent explosion that SF is experiencing now. Manhattan is expensive to live in - but rent prices are growing at predictable and relatively low rates. There are even desirable, wealthy neighborhoods where rents are slowly decreasing.
The fact is also that artificially restricting oneself to Manhattan makes for a easier comparison to SF, but is not representative of the housing situation overall. Commuting from Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx into Manhattan is trivially easy, and rent (even if we strictly limit ourselves to the low-crime, desirable sections of these boroughs) is lower than SF.
Take Brooklyn[2] for example. Plenty of good, safe neighborhoods with solid subway access where prices are flat.
[1] http://www.mns.com/manhattan_rental_market_report
[2] http://www.mns.com/brooklyn_rental_market_report