LA County’s housing stock jumps, as does monthly rent: report

The massive amount of new housing added in Los Angeles County has done little to slow demand or rising rent prices, which have jumped to $2,320 per month.

Amid a housing shortage, the high demand for units led to the absorption of 16,150 units over the past 12 months, lowering the vacancy rate to 3.7 percent, according to Marcus & Millichap’s 2019 multifamily forecast report.

And despite an overall slowing housing market in Southern California, the first quarter of 2019 represented one of the strongest periods for new development in L.A. County since at least 2000, according to the report.

From January through March, 4,200 rental units were added to the apartment stock. And by the end of the year, the report said, completions will stay on pace, with an expected 13,000 additional units.

In Downtown L.A. alone, more than 9,800 new units have been added over the past year, and 9,000 more are set to be finished by the end of 2019. The vacancy there is at 4.6 percent with an average rent of about $2,473.

Construction is underway on 27,600 more units, all of which are set to be completed by the fourth quarter of 2021. This week, Onni Group received city approval for a 700-unit tower in Downtown, which will be one of the tallest planned in the city.

The cities and neighborhoods on the Westside, where the average rent is up to $3,275, are set to add more than 2,800 rentals by the end of the year — the largest annual total since at least 2000. In the next few quarters, at least 16 complexes will be finished there, including the 526-unit Neptune Marina, and the 585-apartment AMLI Marina del Rey.