Some CA renters pay less for apartments than they did a year ago: report

CALIFORNIA – California may be a notoriously expensive place to live, but a new report shows that in some parts of the Golden State, apartment rents have fallen over the past year – while in other areas, rental costs are far outpacing inflation.

The report, released Monday by Rent Research, shows that the average monthly price of an apartment statewide was $3,007. That is only an increase of 0.24 percent compared to the previous year, while rental costs increased by 2.10 percent in March compared to February.

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California’s annual increase is the 14th smallest in the country.

The ten states that saw the highest increases last year were Minnesota, Michigan, Kansas, Missouri, New York, New Hampshire, Indiana, Iowa, Wisconsin and Connecticut; the increases ranged from 13.34 percent to 66.2 percent.

The ten states where rental costs fell the most year-over-year were Florida, Oregon, Idaho, North Carolina, Nevada, Colorado, Tennessee, Washington, Kentucky and Pennsylvania; the declines ranged from -8.80 percent to -1.38 percent.

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Changes in rents varied dramatically in California, where only two metro areas saw year-over-year increases in rents.

The San Jose region saw the largest year-over-year change at 9.28 percent, bringing the average rent to $3,902.

Rents in the Los Angeles area rose 4.24 percent to an average of $3,503.

Rents have fallen in the following metropolitan areas over the past year:

• San Francisco: -0.11 percent to a median of $3,690
• San Diego: -1.29 percent to a median of $3,320
• Sacramento: -3.62 percent to a median of $2,620
• Riverside: -4.74 percent to a median of $2,642

Rent changes between February and March 2024 also varied between urban areas:

• Riverbank: -0.82 percent
• San Diego: -0.61 percent
• Los Angeles: -0.18 percent
• San Francisco: +0.15 percent
• San José: +0.96 percent
• Sacramento: +2.37 percent

Nationally, rental costs have risen moderately over the past three months, which the report says points to a return of demand in the high-season rental market heading into the spring and summer months. The average price of an apartment in March was $1,987. Rental costs have increased by 0.77 percent in the past year, 0.30 percent in the past month and 1.17 percent since January.

“While there were moderate gains in March, more substantial rental growth continues to be hampered by high housing costs, keeping potential homebuyers stuck in the rental market,” the report said. “At the same time, oversupply in rental markets has also dampened more robust rental growth, despite increased demand heading into the peak rental season.”

Nearly 7 percent of U.S. apartment inventory was vacant in the final quarter of 2023, which is comparable to pre-pandemic levels, according to the report.