Its REALLY intense living here - I lived in the bay from 2004-2014, and moved up here for better COL. I'm riding the wave now, but its getting ever higher and my income needs to increase by the same amount. I'm a developer, but not a superstar - I make more than the median dev income, but that is not enough to afford any sort of permanent housing much of city limits.

I am hoping for an economic shock at this point - anything to shake loose all the people holding onto their investment houses while the values are going up, and maybe then all the brand new apartment buildings that wouldn't be able to find tenants might convert to condo's. Supply is desperately needed - even renting is a bloodsport (far more than NYC or even the SF bay, if a little cheaper).

Its literally my #1 concern about the area. If the wave rises to the point that I can never achieve housing stability without a 1.5 hour commute, I'll move (just as so many of my friends here have). Colorado and Portland are next, but even there the whispers of NIMBYism are getting louder. I'm beginning to think at this point that the economy is out to get everyone who's under 35 - the only place there are jobs that pay well enough to afford anything are vastly more expensive.