Bay Area Named The Worst Rental Market
The worst city for rentals, according to Forbes, is San Francisco. On average, renters pay $2,800 a month and their rent increases almost 13 percent a year.
MSA: San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, CA Metropolitan Division
Average monthly rent, Q4 2014: $2,802
Year-over-year % change in apartment rent: 12.8%
Median houshold income, Q4 2014: $85,087
Avg. rent as a share of household income: 40% Apartment vacancy rate, Q4 2014: 3.6%
Average monthly mortage payment, Q4 2014: $5,851
Mortgage payment v. rent: $3,049 cheaper to rent
Right behind San Francisco on the “worst” list is Oakland.
MSA: Oakland-Fremont-Hayward, CA Metropolitan Division
Average monthly rent, Q4 2014: $1,815
Year-over-year % change in apartment rent: 10.5%
Median houshold income, Q4 2014: $76,493
Avg. rent as a share of household income: 28% Apartment vacancy rate, Q4 2014: 2.9%
Average monthly mortage payment, Q4 2014: $4,182
Mortgage payment v. rent: $2,367 cheaper to rent
Right behind Oakland is San Jose.
MSA: San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area
Average monthly rent, Q4 2014: $2,291
Year-over-year % change in apartment rent: 11.3%
Median houshold income, Q4 2014: $93,902
Avg. rent as a share of household income: 29% Apartment vacancy rate, Q4 2014: 3.5%
Average monthly mortage payment, Q4 2014: $5,050
Mortgage payment v. rent: $2,759 cheaper to rent
Believe it or not, New York is behind even San Jose. Their average monthly rent is a bit higher than San Francisco, at about $3,300, but the annual increases are much lower.
METRO (Not an MSA): New York County (NY)
Average monthly rent, Q4 2014: $3,290
Year-over-year % change in apartment rent: 3.4%
Median houshold income, Q4 2014: $74,915
Avg. rent as a share of household income: 53% Apartment vacancy rate, Q4 2014: 2.3%
Average monthly mortage payment, Q4 2014: $7,917
Mortgage payment v. rent: $4,627 cheaper to rent
Rounding out the bottom cities are Los Angeles, San Diego, Northern New Jersey, Boston, Orange County, California and Palm Beach, Florida. I guess we should be happy that California has “only” six of the 10 worst rental markets.
Of course, there’s a reason our rental market is so tight – everyone wants to live here. We have the best weather, the best companies, but biggest variety of recreational activities and the best people.