Bay Area rents are starting to stall.
According to the latest report from Rent Cafe, an apartment search site, just three out of 44 cities in the region saw month-over-month growth of more than one percent. All are located in the East Bay. In Oakland, rent rose 1.9 percent to $2,854 this summer, and rents are now above $2,000 in Pleasant Hill and San Leandro.
But even flattening out, rents in the Bay Area are among the highest in the nation. In San Jose, where prices are hovering at about $2,800, renters moving into an apartment this summer are paying about $53 more on average compared to the same time last year, according to the report. In San Francisco, where rents clocked in around $3,700 in July, residents are paying $126 more than in the previous year.
Two Bay Area cities — both in the North Bay — actually saw rents drop over the last year. In Santa Rosa and Rohnert Park, where rents come in sightly below $2,000, rents have fallen by $32 and $13 respectively.
In Menlo Park, home to Facebook, and Foster City, rents are growing relatively quickly. In Menlo Park, rent this summer is about $4,389, up $379 since last year. In Foster City, rent are $3,552, up $242. Looking for someplace cheaper? The report pegs Vallejo as the city with the cheapest rents.
Nationally, according to Rent Cafe, rents in July were up just 0.2 percent, or $3, month-over-month, but 3.4 percent, or $48, year over year. Across the country, the average rent last month was $1,469.
The report cites data from Rent Cafe’s sister company Yardi Matrix, which collected information from market-rate multifamily properties via telephone survey.
