Changing San Francisco Is Foreseen as a Haven for Wealthy and Childless (1981)

Big Increase From Asia

At the same time the number of Asian-Americans living here increased by more than 50 percent, from 97,379 in 1970 to 147,426 at the end of the decade, according to an interolation of census data by the senior San Francisco city planner, Peter Groat. What is happening is that San Francisco is losing people, but it is gaining households,” observed William Witte, deputy director for housing in the city’s Office of Community Development. ” Among factors contributing to high housing cost, according to Mr. Witte and others, is its relative scarcity, since the number of housing units has not grown significantly in a decade; the influx of Asians, whose first priority is usually to buy a home; the high incidence of adults with good incomes and no children, particularly homosexuals who pool their incomes to buy homes, and the desirability of San Francisco as a place to live.

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Source: www.nytimes.com