The other 'Google Effect' on real estate
By Jessica Swesey, Friday, February 1, 2008.
No, we're not talking about SEO or the Long Tail. Rather, the San Francisco-based SocketSite blog throws the topic out to readers today to debate what's up with the "Google Effect" on San Francisco real estate and whether it actually exists.
The effect refers of course to the company's incredible stock growth, which reportedly has afforded some employees to buy expensive homes. (See ValleyWag's, "Two Google product managers buy a $2.2 million house in San Francisco.") Although, we must admit, $2.2 million doesn't get eyebrow-raising status in these parts.
Google and other Web companies like eBay and Yahoo are big employers here in the Bay Area, which had me wondering this week how 1,000 job cuts Yahoo announced this week might impact the Bay Area housing market.
One SocketSite reader, who thinks the whole "Google Effect" is over-hyped and not grounded in reality, wrote:
"I think a lot of you seriously assume way too much. Google, like any other large company, probably has a lot of wealthy employees and a lot of folks making average local wages...
"I bet a lot of that early money already bought real estate, many in the south bay. That IPO was a one-time event, gang. Those who were in early got rich. Those who joined afterwards are likely just cubicle drones like the rest of us.
"But maybe it's entertaining thinking thousands of new Google millionaires will come rushing in to keep local real estate prices absurdly bloated. Hopefully they get here before the Rich Foreign Investors buy everything!"
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