What California ballot measures could affect Bay Area real estate?

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A: Measure Q in San Mateo and Measure R in Burlingame are two ballot measures on the Peninsula in November. Each measure could have a dramatic effect on the area’s economy. Both measures seek to introduce rent control and just-cause eviction measures by creating a rent board/rent commission.

With that in mind, here are some of the talking points for and against each measure.

Points against Measures Q, R:

• Would cost taxpayers millions annually.

• Creates an unaccountable, unelected commission. One estimate is that it will cost $2.5 million per year to run the commission.

• Property owners would have more difficulty removing a renter who is a nuisance or delinquent.

Points favoring Measures Q, R:

• Allows rent to be raised 1 to 4 percent annually depending on the rate of inflation.

• Rolls rents back to September 2015 levels.

• Limits evictions to specific situations (i.e. unpaid rent) rather than evictions just to raise rents.

Jeff LaMont, Coldwell Banker,

(650) 740-8808, jeff@jefflamont.com.

A: There are a slew of propositions on the ballot that have to do with housing, affordability, homelessness and the city transfer tax. All have arguments for and against them on both sides, and I’m sure all will have an impact on the quality of life and desirability of living in and investing in the city. The two that seem to me the most straightforward to me are Propositions P and RR.

Proposition P enacts a competitive bidding process for affordable housing projects.

We all know there’s an affordability crisis in San Francisco. This affects real estate prices and ultimately impacts jobs and wages as people begin to look to more affordable communities.

In theory, reducing the cost of building affordable housing by making that process more competitive would allow for more housing our city so desperately needs. There’s also the added benefit of retaining our long-term and most necessary residents. I am all for building as much housing as possible at all affordability levels. To me, our lack of inventory has reached a crisis point.

Proposition RR allocates money to upgrade BART equipment and safety. Of course, anything that increases the safety and reliability of public transportation can only have a positive impact on the Bay Area job market.

Nina Hatvany,

Pacific Union Real Estate,

(415) 710-6462,

nina@ninahatvany.com.

A: If you live in San Francisco, Alameda, Mountain View or Richmond, you will be faced with a rent control measure on this November’s ballot.

As all of us know living in the Bay Area, the affordability of housing has reached a crisis point. A median rent price of $3,501 for a one-bedroom in San Francisco has focused interest on these new rent control measures.

These measures are not to keep rents from ever increasing, but to stabilize by only allowing increases by a nominal percentage. With companies such as Apple acquiring 43 acres in the South Bay and Facebook gobbling up another 68 acres in Menlo Park, our economy and job market will continue to add jobs and people who need housing. If the proposed rent control measures do pass this election, the effect of the state’s 21-year-old Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act exempting residential housing built after 1995 from rent control will be limited, making that housing more affordable.

Unless a large amount of new housing is built, we will keep seeing astronomical sales and rent increases.

Meghan Duffy,

McGuire Real Estate,

(415) 652-0677, mduffy@mcguire.com.