Apartment rental rates in San Diego are up nearly 5.4 percent over the past year, but that increase is not much higher than the national average, according to the online real estate company Zillow.
San Diego ranked only tenth among major metro areas, with Denver, Portland, San Franciso and San Jose all reporting double-digit increases. San Francisco’s rental rates were up a whopping 15.2 percent.
The national average was 4.5 percent.
Zillow said newly built apartment buildings are finally opening and slowing the rate of rental appreciation across the country, but rents are still rising much faster than the historical norm and continue to rise faster than incomes.
Multifamily housing starts have been increasing since late 2009, and as units become available, the pace of rental appreciation is slowing. Lack of inventory has been a leading cause of the ongoing rental affordability crisis, especially in fast-growing markets.
“Rental appreciation has started to slow down in part due to more rental supply. Many of the bigger multifamily rental projects that were begun a couple years ago in cities nationwide are finally starting to open for occupancy, easing pressure on rents somewhat,” said Zillow Chief Economist Dr. Svenja Gudell.