2018 Theses Master's

The Effects of Silicon Valley Companies on the Bay Area Housing Crisis

Ryder, Savannah

The lack of affordable homes in the San Francisco Bay Area has increased significantly in the past decade causing residents to commute longer to their jobs. In The Effects of Silicon Valley Tech Companies on the Bay Area Housing Crisis, the question asked was, How are major Silicon Valley companies affecting home price and affordability in the San Francisco Bay Area housing market? In order to answer this question, the study determined how a home’s proximity to the center of the Silicon Valley affected its price. Two different linear regressions were run where median home price by census tract was explained by the census tract’s distance to the Silicon Valley. For the purpose of the study, the distance from Google’s Headquarters in Mountain View, CA., was used as the center point of the Silicon Valley. This calculated distance was used as the independent variable for both linear regressions, and median home price with a mortgage and median home price without a mortgage were used as the two different dependent variables of the study. The results for both regressions showed statistical significance, indicating that, to a certain degree, median home price can be explained by its distance to the Silicon Valley. Additionally, spatial findings showed that census tracts surrounding the study’s center point, have median home prices between 1.5 and 2 million dollars. This is almost triple that of census tracts in neighboring counties, which explains a strong desire to live closer to these companies, especially among those who are employed by them.