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You can't tell a lot about the rental market by looking at rents in google or craigslist. I think the Bay area has a form of rent control so only the least desirable units get advertised.

The rental market has been miserable for landlords for the past 5 years. It's been great for renters. In Boston, for example, units that used to bring in $2500 a month are getting $1600. and places that were 5k are now renting for half that.

Not all landlords are hurt equally. New landlords probably have been hurt the most because they expected a much higher return and thus probably paid more for the property. Long term landlords have tremendous tax benefits and may have some solid returns to balance off the losses, so net after taxes they're doing okay.

As a landlord you are very vulnerable the first few years. Over time with inflation, appreciation and depreciation your vulnerability decreases.

I think the Bay area has a form of rent control so only the least desirable units get advertised.

Only in certain buildings within the cities of San Francisco and Berkeley. All of the newer mid- and high-rise buildings downtown are not subject to rent control (and there are a lot of them), and it doesn't exist anywhere else in the Bay Area. The advertised listings are market-priced units.