The price wasn't far below anything. The price has historically been average, if not above above average. Those problems persist because "bad landlord".
The only difference now is the skyrocketing rates in SF due to dot com 2.0 immigration. The same thing happened back in 1999-2000. EVERYONE had to be in SF for the boom back them, so rates skyrocketed. When the bubble burst, rents leveled off while the rest of the country eventually (almost) caught up.
Plus there's the "Google / Facebook" stipend. Google & Facebook were having a hard time hiring because employees couldn't find a place to live. Google / FB started offering $1k / mo above asked monthly rates to help employees get units quick. That also helped bump up even the worst apartments up to unrealistic levels.
I'm pretty sure this isn't a thing, at least as far as Google is concerned. At least, I work there and live in SF and have never heard of it.
Pay is higher in the Bay Area due to high cost of living, like for most companies, but I've never heard of a housing-specific "stipend" or anything like that.
The only difference now is the skyrocketing rates in SF due to dot com 2.0 immigration. The same thing happened back in 1999-2000. EVERYONE had to be in SF for the boom back them, so rates skyrocketed. When the bubble burst, rents leveled off while the rest of the country eventually (almost) caught up.
Plus there's the "Google / Facebook" stipend. Google & Facebook were having a hard time hiring because employees couldn't find a place to live. Google / FB started offering $1k / mo above asked monthly rates to help employees get units quick. That also helped bump up even the worst apartments up to unrealistic levels.