Friday, March 24, 2017

Checking Out

(Graphic from Paragon)
The human animal is, of course, more complex than one-dimensional economic man. Nevertheless, economic motivations are powerful and often are the principal driving force for behavior. The high cost of housing is finally turning the tide on Bay Area population movement. [bold added]
the number of people moving out has begun to catch up with the number moving in, new census data show.

In fact, in some parts of the Bay Area — including Santa Clara, San Mateo and Marin counties — already more people are leaving than arriving, according to the estimates released Thursday, which cover the period from July 1, 2015, to June 30, 2016...

“Job growth has slowed, and that leads to a lessening in demand to live in the Bay Area,” said Hans Johnson, a senior fellow at the Public Policy Institute of California who had not seen the new census figures. “But it’s not like we’re having outright job losses or increasing unemployment. That’s not happening.” [snip]

“The key here is being able to afford to live in the Bay Area,” said Johnson. “Jobs and housing are really the primary criteria driving people’s decisions. It’s kind of a balancing act between the two. If jobs predominate, people are moving in. If housing predominates, you have less people moving in.”
The Bay Area is not...yet...Hotel California, where "You can checkout any time you like, But you can never leave."

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