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Residential
Los Angeles

California apartment rents reverse course to tick up in first quarter

Economy and worker migration back to jobs in large cities cited for turnaround

California apartments
(Illustration by The Real Deal)

Apartment rents across the state slid for months before turning around and ticking up since January.

The average rental price in California was $1,941 a month in April, up 1.4 percent since January, reversing a five-month rent decline, the Orange County Register reported, citing figures from ApartmentList.

The Register attributed the upswing to a slowing state economy with “enough muscle left” to help end the rent drops.

It also pointed to workers and students moving away from inland areas to return to offices and classrooms in “traditional employment hubs.”

Of the state’s 12 most populous counties only one, Sacramento, had falling rents the past three months. That market’s real estate has cooled as migration from the Bar Area has slowed.

In Los Angeles County, rents for April ran $1,926 a month, up 0.8 percent in three months versus 0.8 percent average gains in the springs of 2017-2019. Rents are up 0.2 percent in a year, and up 13 percent over four years.

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Orange County rents ran $2,595 a month, up 0.7 percent in three months versus 1.3 percent gains in springs of 2017-2019. Rents were down 1.4 percent in the last year, but up 27 percent over four years.

San Bernardino County rents ran $1,850 a month in April, up 2.5 percent in three months versus 2 percent gains in t springs of 2017-2019. Rents are down 0.8 percent in a year, but up 37 percent over four years.

Riverside County rents were flat for the past three months, with fewer exits from Los Angeles and Orange counties the likely factor.

Riverside rents ran $2,028 for April, unchanged compared with 1.6 percent average gains in spring 2017-2019. Rents are down 3.2 percent in a year but up 36 percent over four years.

The bottom line: California rents have firmed as they typically do to start the year, according to the Register. Landlords also benefited from an unaffordable homeownership market. Plus, the state’s job market, despite some ugly layoffs, is still producing paychecks, though at a slower pace. 

— Dana Bartholomew

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