starting in the 1990s, the city of san francisco, and the surrounding san francisco bay area have faced a serious housing shortage, such that by october 2015, san francisco had the highest rents of any major us city. the nearby city of san jose, had the fourth highest rents, and adjacent oakland, had the sixth highest. over the period april 2012 to december 2017, the median house price in most counties in the bay area nearly doubled. late san francisco mayor ed lee has called the shortage a "housing crisis", and news reports stated that addressing the shortage was the mayor's "top priority".