Attack of the million-dollar condos?

The SF Bay Guardian has a food-for-thought, yet mostly lunatic-rant article on the state of housing in San Francisco.

And the writer sums it up by saying, "...there's a more dramatic step that ought at least to be considered: Why not enact a five-year ban on all new market-rate housing in San Francisco? Just stop the development, right now, until this city can sort out its priorities, plan for a sustainable future, and figure out what kind of a community the residents want to build."

YEAH! Let's do that! The housing market may or may not end up leveling off due to a multitude of factors, but let's artificially PUSH THE PRICES THROUGH THE ROOF by eliminating the already low number of new units (compared to what the city really needs) that are slated for construction.

Once again, the time to bitch and moan was back when Mission Bay was on the drawing board. The time is not now, after project after project has been approved. Why don't they turn their energy into keeping Home Depot out of the Bayshore, and let some housing be built. I just don't understand the complete lack of understanding of the most basic equation: supply and demand... Cutting off the supply does not solve the problem, and it never will.

The list of housing-related articles in this week's Guardian is long:

The fate of the eastern neighborhoods

Elevated suburbs

Dogpatch's balancing act

Outbound traffic

Train in vain

The Potrero record

And the only slightly-positive article in the bunch:

City-backed loans offer Third Street businesses a shot at survival.