Falling rents in Bay Area?

Question

I'm wondering if anyone else is noticing falling rents in the Bay Area?

I've been looking for a new place and have alerts. Lately, these alerts have been going off a lot more than usual.

I see a difference from last year as well. But these are rentals specific to my search.

I don't have a big enough data set or view to determine if rentals, in general, are sliding.

Any comment on this from professionals in the field? What is the trend in the market now?

Annie Akin · Answer

Compass’ market trends reports are my go-to for this kind of info. Their mid-year report on multi-family residential in SF shows that asking rents in SF have been rising slowly over the past couple of years.

Stephanie Chiramberro · Answer

@Kyle Calica

I help lease apartments in Daly City and we’ve been able to increase rents while still getting good tenants. Although we’re seeing it is taking a little longer to rent them compared to last year. Sometimes we’ll have to lower rents a smidge but the rents are still overall more than we had previously rented them.

Robert C. · Answer

@Kyle Calica, I would say that it's a mixed market, but overall I see flat rents, and some markets are still going up but slower. It's kind of like what's happening with home buying - still a strong market, but location dependent, and there's more negotiation. Luxury apartments in the Peninsula still raised rents this year.

What you might be seeing is more new apartments hitting the market in San Francisco. Every time a new building comes online, there's a local dip because they are offering specials, etc.

Brian Garlington · Answer

I have not noticed this at all. My rentals in Oakland and Concord have actually been going up.

Stephanie Chiramberro · Answer

It could be! I'm keeping an eye on rentals for 1 and 2 bedrooms and it seems to be going up year over year. For the last few years, I've seen a dip in the fall/winter. If you're looking for yourself, after September will be a good time to look.

Kyle Calica · Answer

@Annie Akin WOW! Thanks, I didn't know of this resource.

I love it!

Kyle Calica · Answer

@Stephanie Chiramberro thanks for the insight! I'm wondering if it's because of what Robert said. I'm looking at sub $2000 rents and I'm just because I am seeing more of those doesn't mean rents, in general, are dropping.

Falling rents in Bay Area?

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