#2 on the "Most Abandoned" list

This is never how you want to be distinguished by Forbes, but certainly provides a lagging indication of how the Bay Area has fared through the recession. Some figures of note from the article:

• Rental vacancy rates swelled from 4.7% to 7.1%
  
• Homeowner vacancies more than tripled from 1.1% to 3.4%. Why the dramatic change?
  
• According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' latest reports, Bay Area unemployment has more than doubled since last year, up from 4.6% to 9.4% as of April. Many laid-off workers aren't sticking around.

The article is basically noting the two factors that have defined the economy of our area for some time--1)High cost of living (housing in particular here); and 2)The transient nature of a workforce fueld by innovation. There are pockets of Bay Area real estate that have taken their lumps in the bursting of the housing bubble. The fact that the Bay Area is a center for entrepreneurship and innovation influences the transient nature of the workforce as much as anything else does. An surge in innovation will help lead our area out of recession.