When an average or median price is moving less than 1%, let’s call it unchanged.
San Diego, which saw rent increases slow last year after a period of skyrocketing costs, continues to absorb drops following the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
ApartmentList.com, in its National Rent Report for June, reported that in the region, median rent stands at $1,573 for a one-bedroom apartment and $2,041 for a two-bedroom. Affordability remains an issue for county renters. The national median for two-bedrooms, by comparison, is $1,192.
Recent trends show that:
- Rents in San Diego have decreased by 0.3% month-over-month, and are down 0.6% since the start of the pandemic.
- Year-over-year rent growth in San Diego currently stands at 0.4%, lower in June than in the recent data.
The researchers noted that the pandemic “put a halt to normal moving activity.” That, combined with job losses, has “dampened the demand for rental housing across the country.”
“The economic fallout from the pandemic does not appear on track for the quick V-shaped recovery that many had originally hoped for,” the researchers wrote. “and this economic weakness is reflected in our rent data.”
This is normally peak season for rental activity. From 2014-2019, rent growth from March to June in San Diego averaged 1.2%.
North County rents are up sharply, year-over-year. The median price for a two-bedroom in Oceanside rose to $2,351. Though rents in Carlsbad fell the most, by .3% in the last three months, median rent for two-bedrooms there remains the most expensive in the county at $2,540.
Median rent in National City is the most affordable for a two-bedroom, at $1,323. It has fallen .8% in the last year, but just slightly since May.
San Francisco leads the nation in rent declines since March, followed by Orlando, Fla. and New York City.
Link to Times of San Diego
