“Rent Watch” monitors the junction of landlords and tenants, keeping tabs on who pays what and where. Nine out of sixteen major cities in California saw a decline in rental prices this past summer.
An August analysis of 100 major US cities, including 16 in California, was conducted using ApartmentList’s rent tracker by my reliable spreadsheet.
Topline Rents in Oakland fell 8.8 percent last year, which was the highest reduction in the state and the country.
Compared to the rest of the country, this does not indicate that rents in Oakland are inexpensive. Rent for a one-bedroom was $1,793 (the sixteenth highest among 100 US cities), while for a two-bedroom it was $2,153 (the seventeenth highest).
There’s good news for renters: these California cities were winners.
Rents in San Diego fell 3.8% year-over-year, placing them eighth out of 100 cities, with a median of $1,982 for 1-bedroom units (ranked eleventh) and $2,484 for 2-bedroom units (ranked seventh).
Chula Vista: $1,730 for a 1-bedroom (No. 17) and $2,264 for a 2-bedroom (No. 15) are down 3.6% year-over-year (No. 9).
With $1,577 for a 1-bedroom (No. 22) and $1,931 for a 2-bedroom (No. 21), Long Beach saw a 2.2% decrease in year (No. 24).
Down 2% year-over-year in Los Angeles, with $1,885 for a 1-bedroom (No. 15) and $2,404 for a 2-bedroom (No. 12).
Riverside: A one-bedroom (No. 26) and a two-bedroom (No. 25) for $1,491 each were down 1.1% in year (No. 36).
Santa Ana: A 1-bedroom for $1,919 (No. 14) and a 2-bedroom for $2,263 (No. 16) are both down 0.9% year-over-year, putting them at No. 39.
With $2,297 for a 1-bedroom (No. 8) and $2,783 for a 2-bedroom (No. 5), Fremont saw a 0.9% decline in value in the year (No. 39).
San Francisco: The 1-bedroom (No. 1) and 2-bedroom (No. 1) prices fell 0.5% in the 43rd year, with $2,752 and $3,262 respectively.
What’s going on? In these cities, tenants have paid up.
Rents in Fresno increased 2.5% year over year, ranking 86th for tenants out of 100, with 1-bedroom rentals going for $1,082 (73rd) and 2-bedroom rentals going for $1,335 (70th).
San Jose: A 1-bedroom (No. 3) and a 2-bedroom (No. 4) for $2,503 and $2,969, respectively, represent a 1.9% annual increase (No. 81).
Investment by City Retirement System Saves Close to 28,000 Rent Stabilized Apartments
Moreno Valley: $ 1,611 for a 1-bedroom (No. 21) and $1,832 for a 2-bedroom (No. 23), both up 1.5% year-over-year (No. 74).
With $1,969 for a 1-bedroom (No. 12) and $2,429 for a 2-bedroom (No. 11), Anaheim is up 1.3% year-over-year (No. 67).
Sacramento: A 1-bedroom at $1,400 (No. 37) and a 2-bedroom at $1,769 (No. 27) are up 1% year-over-year, putting them at No. 63.
With $2,006 for a 1-bedroom (No. 10) and $2,441 for a 2-bedroom (No. 9), Santa Clarita had a 0.5% increase year-over-year (No. 57).
There is a one-bedroom apartment in Irvine (No. 2) that costs $2,553 per month and a two-bedroom apartment (No. 2) that costs $3,130 per month.
The conclusion
Based on these numbers, it seems that certain locations in California provide better rent rates than others for those looking to save money. Landlords are in a race to fill vacant apartments due to the flood of new complexes hitting the market.
The demand for rentals is also being impacted by an unstable economy with high unemployment. That encourages property owners to lower rents, provide other incentives, or slightly increase prices.
