Yesterday’s front page article in the New York Times Business Section might sound a cautionary note for the local San Francisco market. What if our tech industry Millennials’ stock options and – even – jobs (gosh!) start disappearing? I mentioned this in my 2015 Real Estate Wrap-Up as a possible brake on the
usually hot spring buying season; however, my impression from open houses and deals so far this year is that demand is extremely robust, especially at the lower and mid-end of the market.
One of my best friends is an attorney with decades of experience dealing with tech companies. He confirmed that start-up funding is drying up and valuations are going down precipitously. At the same time, he says that there are still lots of companies that only need to raise $500,000 to $1 million to launch an app and be profitable. They may not be going public any time soon, but at least they’ll be employing people and paying salaries.
So, even if unicorns are a dying breed, maybe we’ll have enough horses to keep the real estate market moving forward for now.