SAN DIEGO – With San Diego rent prices consistently on the rise, local residents are feeling the pinch.
A recent report by rental platform Zumper shows San Diego is outpacing West Coast cities like Los Angeles and Oakland with the median price of a one-bedroom unit in April at $2,390 and $3,050 for a two-bedroom. In the report by company analyst Jeff Andrews, the city — and surrounding areas such as Chula Vista and Oceanside — were namechecked for sizable year-over-year increases in median rent prices.
Those living in the area know firsthand the effect of rent stretching their budgets to the brink.
One North County family told FOX 5 they’ve had it with San Diego’s rental costs and the general cost of living in the region – so they’re packing up and leaving.
“It’s too expensive down here,” said Kraus Williams, who is moving to the state of Washington. “Cost of living and wages. Can’t afford anything down here.”
They were living in the Carlsbad Coast Apartments, a short distance from Carlsbad State Beach which borders the Pacific Ocean. Residents say they’re scrambling after being slapped with a 9% rent increase.
Tenant Amanda Jordan said she went from paying $2,248 a month to $2,588 a month, a $310 increase she notes is “a lot of money for a family.” She says the new property owners from Wonder Dog Management only gave them a few days to decide whether to sign a new lease or to leave.
The company did not immediately respond to a reporter’s request for comment.
“We’re a new family of three and expensive to live here in San Diego,” Jordan said. “That’s a decision between putting my 18-month-old son in daycare, you know, or paying my rent. That’s really a hard choice to make.”
In recent years, San Diego city and county government officials have been vocal about the need to build more affordable options for renters. But there are other issues in play, according to Andrews.
One is the region’s high cost of real estate, which Andrews argues effectively traps renters in the market.
“If you’re on the bubble of being able to buy a house and they rise by say 20% in a year, which is not uncommon, you just got totally priced out,” Andrews said.
San Diego City Council President Sean Elo-Rivera said the city is advocating for California lawmakers to “become more aggressive in terms of building housing.”
“Not just making housing easier to build but actually building it and then at the local level, we’ve got to reduce barriers to building with respect to unnecessary red tape, with respect to regulations that make it too difficult or impossible to build,” Elo-Rivera said.
For Jordan, it’s not just about the rent, but stagnant wages not keeping pace. As a result, she and her family are quickly finding other affordable places to live are in short supply, too.
“I’ve been up the last two nights since they told me just scouring places … I don’t know how we’re gonna make a decision just on such short notice,” says Jordan.
Click or tap here to read the full report from Zumper.
