This story is part of a CNET special report that examines the controversy gripping San Francisco as a massive influx of techies feeds an unprecedented economic boom -- and backlash.
SAN FRANCISCO -- Two years and 18 bids after they first tried to find a place to live in San Francisco, Julia Knittel and her fiance Rasheq Zarif finally nabbed an apartment.
The couple, New York transplants, started scouring the city in 2012 for a place to buy that met their needs -- at least two bedrooms, sunny, close to a park, and not in a high rise. About eight months after starting the search, they found the perfect apartment in February 2013. But the couple lost out to a higher bidder.
The same thing happened again. And again. And again.
"There were times through that process we were like, 'What are we doing wrong?'" said Knittel, a 39-year-old marketing director. "Are we asking for too much? Can we get what we want with the money we have, or is it just never ever going to be possible?"
