SF has felt unbearably constrained before. Then 2001 happened and there were tumbleweeds on 101. The people that were left had dozens of friends that left. Tech is fundamentally stronger this time around, but not by that much. Everyone is talking about the supply and demand of housing, but we also need to consider the supply and demand of six figure jobs.
Presumably part of the reason for the ghost town effect wasn't just the demand shifted but because the landlords (or banks) wouldn't blink. There presumably always a price which would have mitigated the churn, but the market failed to find it fast enough to avoid the undershoot.
During the 2001-2003 bust, rents fell quite a bit along 101 and the south bay. For an average apartment, from ~4,000 to ~2,500. High end apartments fell from ~8,000 to ~3,500
