San Diego Multi-Family Rent Prices and Rent Collection

[Jonathan Haley]

Throughout the last 3 months as coronavirus has hit San Diego hard, the state of California and the federal government has done a great job to supplement incomes which has lead our 700+ units to maintain a 96-97% rent collection throughout the pandemic. However, rent prices have seen their first MOM decrease in a long time in San Diego, being down .3% from April to May.

The San Diego multi-family community is built largely on the backs of industry workers. It has been interesting to see my friends who are industry workers throughout San Diego react to the relief money they are receiving form the government for losing their job. Almost all of them are making slightly more being unemployed than they would have if they remained employed. As the pandemic relief money being provided by the government comes to a slow (if not a complete halt) this summer, but small businesses start to open and the unemployment rate drops, I’m very curious to see how this will continue to affect rent prices and rent collection.

My question: How do you all predict rent collections and rent prices reacting as the government financial aid slows and small businesses begin to re-open? Are industry workers in San Diego, who are making slightly more through unemployment than they would at their job, be less motivated to pay rent when they go back to their job and have less income?