I would stay away from the grays because that are trendy and will date the house in coming years.

The trendiness in the Westside north of this location (Marietta St/Howell Mill) is all factory lofts and apartment buildings, at least as far as I see.

It is happening: the trend is toward property owners losing their rights to screen tenants.

But the point of this thread is if the SF Bay Area is at the top and if it is affordable.Part of my day job is to digest research on the trends and patterns of consumers and then design and develop products that fit within their lives.I would not profess to be an expert on every market, but the research teams we pay millions to say, within the millennial generation the strong trend is to skip the starter home and just buy what they want.

as a major player It would be interesting to get your perspective on where this trend is going.being that I buy a lot of property in many states and all for cash..

Meanwhile, I've moved my attention to another up and coming, trendy area.  

I agree on Durham, seems like the "trendy" places downtown and near 9th street get snapped up in seconds and at prices that would never work as rentals.

Lakework is a pretty trendy area that is great for rentals.

New, trendy cafes and supermarkets, etc etc. 

The area is pretty trendy and is nice to drive through when I go visit.