Molly Kirkland, mkirkland@sdcaa.com (858)751-2200 Tony Manolatos, amanolatos@gmail.

com (619) 549-0137

Less expensive to rent today than 5 years ago

Average rent for 1 bedroom apartment in San Diego and across the county is down 7 percent from 2007, according to a new analysis from the San Diego County Apartment Association
SAN DIEGO (December 4, 2012): Average rents in the City of San Diego and across the county are down, according to a new analyisis from the San Diego County Apartment Association (SDCAA). Its great news for renters and those interested in renting, said Alan Pentico, SDCAAs executive director. Property owners and property managers have done a nice job of responding to the economic downturn and keeping rents affordable. The average rent for a 1 bedroom apartment in San Diego is $1,193, according to SDCAAs Fall survey of rental units. That same unit rented for $1,211 a year ago and $1,285 five years ago. Here is a breakdown of average rents today versus five years ago: County of San Diego, 1 Bedroom: $1,089 today | $1,177 five years ago 7 percent decrease County of San Diego, 2 Bedrooms: $1,389 today | $1,476 five years ago 6 percent decrease City of San Diego, 1 Bedroom: $1,193 today | $1,285 five years ago 7 percent decrease City 2 of San Diego, 2 Bedrooms: $1,563 today | $1,596 five years ago 2 percent decrease Source: SDCAA

Although rents in the city and county are down from last year and five years ago, for a variety of reasons, they are expected to increase next year. The combination of new job formations, households undoubling and the negligible addition to the rental housing inventory will result in a very tight apartment market in 2013 with rising rents, said Alan Nevin, a SDCAA member and Principal with The London Group. It is true that there are several thousand apartment units in the planning/construction stage, but most will not be delivered next year and, together, they will not add more than 3 percent to the current rental apartment inventory, Nevin added. Further, most of the new units are aimed at the top end of the market, with most renting for more than $2 per square foot. In addition, a substantial percentage of the homes that were acquired by investors and are now rented will be put back on the market this year for sale to owner-occupants. That will add to the tightness of the rental market.

The vacancy rate the number of available units for San Diego County remains unchanged at 4.5 percent since Spring, according to SDCAAs survey. The vacancy rate in the City of San Diego also did not change. East County, North County and the South Bay saw changes in vacancy rates since last surveyed. South Bay is experiencing the highest vacancy rate at 7.6 percent, followed by North County and East County each at 4 percent. South Bay is the only region that saw an increase since Spring. SDCAAs Vacancy and Rental Rate Survey is performed twice a year to compile a snapshot of industry conditions. The survey is the oldest and most comprehensive of its kind in the region. The Fall 2012 survey was mailed in September to nearly 6,000 rental property owners and managers throughout San Diego County. More than 25,000 units were included in the responses, which are solicited from a range of property sizes, ages and amenity levels in order to closely reflect the variety of rental housing available.
SDCAA has been serving the rental housing industry since 1919. Its 2,400 members are rental property owners, rental property managers, or suppliers of goods and services to the rental housing industry. SDCAA represents all segments of the rental housing industry, from single-family rental homes to the largest multi-family rental communities, and provides a wide range of services to its members. You can follow SDCAA on Twitter and Facebook.

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