Has San Francisco’s notorious rent bubble popped? If you’ve recently scrambled for housing in the seven-by-seven-mile city, then you’d pull up the hundreds of unanswered Craigslist emails sent to potential landlords. But, the continuous rise in rental prices may have eased. Zumper reports that for the median price of a one-bedroom apartment dipped 0.3 percent month-over-month in December, the second straight monthly decline. While that isn’t a steep decline, it is at least a plateau.
Regardless of the decline, San Francisco still sits at number one in the nation for most expensive rent for a one-bedroom at $3,490. New York City trailed close behind at $3,280. Another win: a two-bedroom in San Francisco averaged $4,630 in December, a 4.1 percent month-over-month decrease from November.
While San Francisco has been grabbing the most national attention for its pricey rental market, nearby Oakland and San Jose markets are both in the top 5. Within the past year, Oakland’s median rent has risen by 10.5 percent, while San Jose’s has skyrocketed a shocking 19.6 percent year-over-year. San Jose’s median rent for a one-bedroom also rose 3.3 percent November to December to end the year at $2,200. The dramatic increase is probably due to close proximity to the tech campus mecca known as Silicon Valley. Oakland is raking in the overflow of former San Francisco residents who can’t afford the conflated rent when they want to change housing, or who face illegal eviction.
We’ll keep an eye on whether the San Francisco rent plateau continues over the next few months, and keep you updated. Either way, Uber is moving into downtown Oakland with a scheduled opening of 2017, and East Bay rent is expected to soar.
credit: buzzbuzzhomes