The “Survey Says” looks at various rankings and scorecards looking at geographic locations, while viewing these grades as a mix of artistic interpretation and data.
Discussion: Forget what the landlord is charging, the first headache is finding a vacancy. And five California markets were ranked among the 20 hardest places to find an apartment in the country.
Source: a review of my trusty spreadsheet RentCafe’s report on the country’s most competitive apartment markets, based on data for large rental complexes for the first half of 2022. Tracked rental search challenges for the large apartment markets that are available (vacancy rates); how long the units remained empty; Tenant interest (probabilities per unit); living tenants (renewal rate); and new construction as part of the available supply.
Top Line
Here are the Golden State Bazaars that made this apartment seeker’s nightmare list…
No. 11 Orange County: The 2.5% vacancy rate is quite a hassle for an apartment seeker, but a typical vacant unit stays without rent for only 31 days and attracts 20 prospects. This is why 60% of tenants choose to renew leases. And new construction just adds 0.2% to what’s on the market.
No. 14 Central Valley: 2.4% vacancies with units empty in 32 days; 16 possibilities per unit; 49% of tenants renew; No new supplies.
No. 16 San Diego: 2.8% vacancies with units vacant for 31 days; 24 possibilities per unit; 52% of tenants renew; 0.7% new supply.
No. 19 Inland Empire: 37 vacancies with 3% vacant units in days; 21 possibilities per unit; 53% of tenants renew; 0.1% new supply.
No. 20 East Los Angeles County: 2.5% vacancies with units vacated in 35 days; 27 possibilities per unit; 41% of tenants renew; 0.7% new supply.
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Here’s a rental challenge tracked in six other California markets, in order of their rental difficulties…
Sacramento: 3.5% of vacancies are vacant in 38 days; 16 possibilities per unit; 54% of tenants renew; No new supplies.
North LA / Ventura County: 3.2% of vacancies are vacant in 39 days; 16 possibilities per unit; 47% of tenants renew; 0.3% new supply.
silicon Valley: 4.4% of vacancies in which 35 days are vacant; 15 possibilities per unit; 48% of tenants renewing; 0.3% new supply.
East Bay: 4.4% of vacancies are vacant in 39 days; 14 possibilities per unit; 42% of tenants renewing; 0.5% new supply.
Western Los Angeles County: 4.4% of vacancies are vacant in 38 days; 16 possibilities per unit; Renewal of 35% tenants; 1.3% new supply.
San Francisco Peninsula/North Bay: 6.9% vacancies, units vacated in 41 days; 8 possibilities per unit; 44% of tenants renew; 0.5% new supply.
ground level
How Hard Is It for Golden State Renters? Consider how these 11 California markets compare to the challenges of apartment hunting across the country.
The San Francisco Peninsula/North Bay market was the only place in the state with a vacancy rate higher than the US average of 4.5%. It was also the only market with less potential per unit than the 14 found across the country.
And only western Los Angeles County had new construction as a larger share of available rentals than the 0.7% US norm.
Yes, units in six of the 11 markets remained un-rented for more than the 35-day national rate.
Still, Californians found a new location more often than average. No market in the state exceeds the national renewal rate of 62%.
Postscript
By this math, the ten hardest places to find an apartment in America?
Miami was No. 1, followed by Harrisburg, Pa., Orlando, Southwest Florida, North New Jersey, Grand Rapids, Mich., Rochester, NY, Central New Jersey, Milwaukee and Broward County, Fla.
Jonathan Lancer is a business columnist for the Southern California Newsgroup. He can be contacted at jlansner@scng.com