Take a good, long look at the Featured Image. This apartment building epitomizes how dramatically have rentals risen in San Diego over scant number of years. Something seems wrong here—and I mean more broadly. This place merely reflects a trend in explosive increases that feels funny—fixed, unnatural—for a typically dynamic capitalist market.
I’ll illustrate. In June 2021, a 1,000-square-foot flat listed for $1,495 monthly and presumably rented, since the listing was removed eight days later. Available now for $2,325, in the same building: 530-sq-foot studio. Oh, and Zillow estimates that if the larger unit was marketed today, the landlord should charge $3,063.
Let’s say the property manager accepted Zillow’s estimate: Rent would be 104 percent higher than three years ago. Looked at differently: Someone taking on the 530-square-footer would pay 56 percent more than the taker of the larger unit but for about half the space.
Nothing is atypical about this particular building, or the rent. That’s the point. Trend is similar, and it is consistent. Among the 91 rental units currently available in my San Diego neighborhood of University Heights, lowest cost apartment is $1,545 monthly for a 275 square-footer. The pricey choice is $6,500 monthly for a house, but limited lease: June 1, 2024 to Jan. 20, 2025.
So, if you’re thinking of moving to San Diego to rent, think again—unless you are filthy rich or earn well above $100,000 annually.
Photo vitals: f/1.7, ISO 12, 1/1250 sec; 12:25 p.m. PDT, May 11. 2024; Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra.