“Rent Watch” tracks what’s happening at the intersection of landlords and tenants – who is paying what and where.
Buzz: California rents are down four straight months – and modestly off all-time highs – as the number of empty units hit a 32-month high.
Source: My trusty spreadsheet looked into ApartmentList’s tally of rent and vacancy rates across California. The math based on a combination of Census surveys of what renters are paying and landlord’s listing data that tracks a mix of units with varying numbers of bedrooms and bathrooms.
Topline
The typical California rent was $1,917 a month in November, by this math, part of an ongoing slide since July. Yes, it’s a slow period for landlords, but average rents are now 5% off peak pricing seen in August 2022 – back when the pandemic pushed tenants to find larger living spaces.
Why the recent price dip? Well, life has returned to near-normalcy and the lofty cost of renting plus the state’s shrinking population and modest additions to supply from new construction all created more empty apartments.
Statewide, 5.2% of rentals were empty in November, the highest vacancy rate since March 2021. It’s also a noteworthy relief for renters from the cyclical low vacancy rate of 3.4% in October 2021.
Bottom line
Let’s politely say California rents have stabilized.
Yes, California looks slightly kinder to renters this fall. But these are still rough conditions to find an affordable place to lease.
Rents are up 21% in six years. And the vacancy rate is just a tad above its 5% average since 2017.
Now, look at Golden State rent vs. the nation’s marketplace.
California rent in November ran 43% above the $1,340 typical US rent, although the gap is below its 49% six-year average.
Golden State renters also have fewer choices. The nation’s 6.4% vacancy rate is 1.2 percentage points higher than California – a gap that’s averaged 0.9 points since 2017.
County change
Below are price and vacancy stats for 14 big California counties, ranked by size of decline off recent peak in rents …
San Francisco: $2,122 a month rent – off 19% from the peak of July 2019 and down 12% in six years. Vacancies were 5.2% in November vs. the recent low of 3.4% in January 2017 vs. 5.3% average since 2017.
San Mateo: $2,385 – 9% off peak of June 2019 but up 3% in six years. Vacancies? 5.1% vs. low of 3.8% (April 2019) vs. 5% average.
Alameda: $1,988 – 8% off peak of July 2022 but up 3% in six years. Vacancies? 6.5% vs. low of 3.8% (January 2017) vs. 5.5% average.
Santa Clara: $2,461 – 7% off peak of August 2022 but up 9% in six years. Vacancies? 5.8% vs. low of 3.9% (July 2022) vs. 5.9% average.
Contra Costa: $2,006 – 6% off peak of August 2022 but up 12% in six years. Vacancies? 5.2% vs. low of 3.4% (January 2017) vs. 4.7% average.
Placer: $2,099 – 6% off peak of August 2021 but up 38% in six years. Vacancies? 3.8% vs. low of 1.5% (June 2021) vs. 4% average.
Riverside: $2,003 – 6% off peak of June 2022 but up 44% in six years. Vacancies? 5% vs. low of 1.3% (August 2021) vs. 4% 6-year average.
Sacramento: $1,636 – 5% off peak of July 2022 but up 34% in six years. Vacancies? 5% vs. low of 1.9% (August 2021) vs. 3.9% average.
San Diego: $2,336 – 5% off peak of August 2022 but up 38% in six years. Vacancies? 5.3% vs. low of 1.7% (October 2021) vs. 4.3% average.
San Bernardino: $1,785 – 5% off peak of August 2022 but up 42% in six years. Vacancies? 4.3% vs. low of 1.9% (July 2021) vs. 4.1% average.
Los Angeles: $1,900 – 4% off peak of August 2022 but up 15% in six years. Vacancies? 5.2% vs. low of 3.6% (November 2021) vs. 5.5% average.
Ventura: $2,408 – 4% off peak of August 2022 but up 32% in six years. Vacancies? 4.8% vs. low of 2.6% (September 2021) vs. 4.5% average.
Solano: $1,967 – 4% off peak of June 2022 but up 21% in six years. Vacancies? 5.4% vs. low of 2.4% (September 2021) vs. 4.5% average.
Orange: $2,641 – 1% off peak of July 2022 but up 34% in six years. Vacancies? 4.6% vs. low of 2.2% (October 2021) vs. 5.2% average.
Jonathan Lansner is the business columnist for the Southern California News Group. He can be reached at [email protected]