Originally posted by Phillip Molnar, average rent was $1,618 a month in San Diego County in March and the vacancy rate was the lowest in at least five years, said MarketPointe Realty Advisors in its latest report.
There is some evidence that people just can’t pay any higher or landlords are feeling less bullish about what they can charge. Rents increased only 2.79 percent in the last 12 months, MarketPointe said. For context, from March 2014 to March 2015, rent increased 8.7 percent.
MarketPointe’s report covered 829 rental complexes and 130,976 units. Just 2.46 percent of apartments were vacant, the report said.
The average monthly rent for a studio apartment was $1,283; For a one-bedroom, $1,411; For a two-bedroom, $1,701; For a three-bedroom, $2,109; and for a four-bedroom, $2,751.
Similar to the housing market, inventory of available apartments is stretched thin. In the past six months, just one project — the Pulse Millenia in Chula Vista — entered the market with 273 apartments, the report said.
In the past six months, just one project — the Pulse Millenia in Chula Vista — entered the San Diego County apartment market with 273 units, MarketPointe Realty Advisors said. CoStar
Two-bedroom apartments dominated the market, making up 52 percent of all units. Studios and four-bedrooms were practically nonexistent, making 3.69 percent and 0.32 percent, respectively.
East County continued to be the hardest hit in terms of vacancy. Out of 18,504 apartments, just 244 were open in March, the report said.
The downtown market, predictably, had higher rents than the county as a whole. Of the 5,826 units downtown, the average rent was $2,059 a month. Vacancy was higher than any of the sub-regions at 6.3 percent.
The San Diego Apartment Association’s study released in December had slightly lower rent numbers. However, the association interviewed significantly fewer units than MarketPointe, 19,768.
The association said the average monthly rent for a studio in San Diego County was $1,046; For a one-bedroom, $1,327; For a two-bedroom, $1,634; and for a three-bedroom and up, $1,887.
This article was originally posted by San Diego Union Tribune and can be found HERE.
