How much does it cost? monitors data on the completely overpriced housing market in California.
In eight of the state’s eleven biggest cities, landlords are raising their asking prices despite all the talk of declining rents.
My go-to spreadsheet combined median asking rents and one-year price changes for one- and two-bedroom apartments in 100 major US locations, including 11 in California, to analyze November Zumper statistics on what landlords wanted.
The pinch
The average California landlord requested $2,365 per month for November, which was a 2.3% increase over the previous year. In eight of the eleven cities, rents increased.
In contrast, landlords in 89 cities across the rest of the country demanded $1,445—39% less than California. In 60 cities, rents increased by 1.7% during the course of the year.
Pressure points
Consider California rents and their fluctuations, ranking them from the largest to the smallest increases in what landlords are looking for.
Bakersfield: Up 7.6% in a year to $1,300 (No. 69), the 17th gain of the 100.
Los Angeles: Up 6.7% from No. 20 to No. 5 at $3,080.
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San Jose: Up 6.2% from No. 25 to No. 7 at $2,970.
Fresno: $1,530 (No. 45), up 5.4% (No. 29).
San Francisco: Up 4.3% to $3,640 (No. 2) (No. 35).
Anaheim: Up 2.3% to $2,370 (No. 14) from No. 46.
Long Beach: Up 2.1% from No. 47 to No. 19 at $2,170.
Sacramento: Up 0.8% to $1,690 (No. 33) from No. 61.
Santa Ana: 1.1% decrease from No. 72 to No. 11’s $2,470.
San Diego: Dropped 2.2% from No. 78 to No. 9 at $2,730.
Oakland: Dropped 3.7% from No. 91 to No. 15 at $2,310.
Bottom line
Based on this calculation, consider rent decreases in California’s two major economic rivals.
Landlords in nine Texas cities demanded $1,420 per month, which is 40% less than what California charges. Despite rises in six cities, rent decreased 1.1% year over year.
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Rent in seven Florida cities is $1,775—a quarter less than in California. With rises in three cities, that represents a 2.2% annual decline.
And consider the extremes of the country.
New York is the most expensive, rising 6.3% in a year to $4,960.
Wichita, Kansas, is the cheapest, up 6.1% to $820.
Syracuse, New York, saw the largest gain, up 27% to $1,390.
Minneapolis saw the largest decline, falling 9.9% to $1,550.
The Southern California News Group’s business columnist is Jonathan Lansner. His email address is [email protected].
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