&gt;Circumstantial scarcity of housing aside, unless the landlord is paying more in building maintenance and property taxes, the assumed lost of revenue due to inflated land costs is not actually &quot;costing&quot; anything.<p>Sure it did.  It cost him risk and opportunity.  People who buy property are at the mercy of changing economic conditions, whimsical government bureaucracies, and easily-led voters.  They could have bought T-bills instead without any of the headache.<p>I wouldn&#x27;t buy rental property, especially in San Francisco.  Nobody&#x27;s going to come by and drop off a check if you lose money, but they&#x27;ll certainly be there to collect if your property goes up in value.