Why Boom Towns: The Ups & Downs of San Francisco

[Shane Pearlman]

‘Our city just at this time is dull except [for] Real Estate Speculations, upon which our people seem crazy. I drew papers of a piece of property today for my friend “Hood” which in 1846 cost him five dollars. It sold today [in 1853] for sixty thousand.'”

http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2015/01/13/san-francisco-...

It is really interesting to see the historical surge and retreat of real estate prices has been with San Francisco nearly as long as the tides. It does make me ask, why does SF have such a volatile profile, while many other cities plod along for decades with growth near the point of inflation?

What makes one city an equity market while another dominantly cashflow?

(P.S. don't turn this into a debate about the merits, I just want to understand the economic and social drivers that cause the different cycles)