"Median rent rose faster in Sacramento during the past 12 months than in any other major U.S. metro, according to Hotpads, a subsidiary of tracking firm Zillow.com.

Monthly median rent for a two-bedroom apartment in the four-county region was $1,695 during the last three months, up 8.2 percent from the same period last year. That's roughly triple the rate of rental growth seen nationwide."

So what's causing this amazing rent growth in the Sacramento region?

Migrants from the Bay Area who are used to paying way more and think rents in Sacramento are a steal.

Imagine you're some young 20-something living in San Francisco and paying $1,350/mo to rent a room and another $500/mo for a parking space.

One day your hipster friend on Facebook messages you and says he just rented a 3 bedroom house in Sacramento for the same price!

"OH MY LAWD!!!" you say, realizing that the super cool tech startup you work for is willing to let you work remotely or commute only a few days a week back into the Bay Area...

You begin to wonder... "Why the hell am I paying the same amount to rent a room that I could pay to rent an entire house just a couple hours away?" (We here in Sacramento have been wondering the same thing for quite some time).

You do a quick search on Instagram for #MidtownSac, #EastSac and #Sactown and see that maybe Sacramento isn't the podunk little cowtown you thought it was growing up. Maybe it's actually kinda cool now.

And so... you make the move. You take you $200k+ per year salary and move to an area where the median household income is a third of that. You'll live like a king! You can blow all kinds of expendable income on things like craft beer, avocado toast, hot yoga and oxygen bars. (You know, all the cool stuff that attracts people like you).

Investors start seeing all the money being spent on this sorts of stuff, and decide to come buy up land and create all sorts of new, cool trendy pubs, bars, restaurants, yogurt shops and other stuff you might not expect to find in a city of this size, which attracts even more of your peers.

10-20 years from now when 50% of the workforce might work from home, or some high speed rail gets built that connects Sacramento and Stockton to the Bay Area in less than an hour, you'll look back and realize making the move to Sacramento was one of the best decisions you've ever made.

.....

And so will every investor who bought property here and the let the appreciation and rent growth boat take their portfolio to new heights.

I'm the perfect example... bought a single family home in October 2016 for $260k with only 5% down... remodeled both bathrooms, painted, replaced the AC and pool pump and that's it. Now worth $350k and renting for $500 over the mortgage payment. Hallelujah holla back.

As for those thinking maybe it's too late and they wish they would've bought in 2010-2012...

Sacramento, California

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