Where in California are apartment rentals the hardest to find?

”Survey says” looks at various rankings and scorecards judging geographic locations while noting these grades are best seen as a mix of artful interpretation and data.

Buzz: Forget what the landlord is charging, the first headache is finding a vacancy. And five California markets were ranked among the 20 toughest places to find an apartment in the nation.

Source: My trusty spreadsheet’s review of a RentCafe report on the nation’s most competitive apartment markets, based on data from large rental complexes for 2022’s first half. The rental search challenges tracked for big apartment markets were what’s available (vacancy rate); how long units stayed empty; renter interest (prospects per unit); renters staying put (renewal rate); and new construction as a share of available supply.

Top line

Here are the Golden State markets that made this apartment seeker’s nightmare list …

No. 11 Orange County: The 2.5% vacancy rate is trouble enough for an apartment seekers, but a typical empty unit stays unrented only 31 days and draws 20 prospects. That’s why 60% of renters choose to renew leases. And new construction adds just 0.2% to what’s on the market.

No. 14 Central Valley: 2.4% vacancies with units empty 32 days; 16 prospects per unit; 49% of renters renew; no new supply.

No. 16 San Diego: 2.8% vacancies with units empty 31 days; 24 prospects per unit; 52% of renters renew; 0.7% new supply.

No. 19 Inland Empire: 3% vacancies with units empty 37 days; 21 prospects per unit; 53% of renters renew; 0.1% new supply.

No. 20 Eastern Los Angeles County: 2.5% vacancies with units empty 35 days; 27 prospects per unit; 41% of renters renew; 0.7% new supply.

Details

Here’s the rental challenge in the six other California markets tracked, in order of their rental difficulties …

Sacramento: 3.5% vacancies with units empty 38 days; 16 prospects per unit; 54% of renters renew; no new supply.

North L.A./Ventura County: 3.2% vacancies with units empty 39 days; 16 prospects per unit; 47% of renters renew; 0.3% new supply.

Silicon Valley: 4.4% vacancies with units empty 35 days; 15 prospects per unit; 48% of renters renew; 0.3% new supply.

East Bay: 4.4% vacancies with units empty 39 days; 14 prospects per unit; 42% of renters renew; 0.5% new supply.

Western Los Angeles County: 4.4% vacancies with units empty 38 days; 16 prospects per unit; 35% of renters renew; 1.3% new supply.

San Francisco Peninsula/North Bay: 6.9% vacancies with units empty 41 days; 8 prospects per unit; 44% of renters renew; 0.5% new supply.

Bottom line

How tough is it for Golden State renters? Consider how these 11 California markets compare to the challenges of apartment hunting across the nation.

The San Francisco Peninsula/North Bay market was the only place in the state with a vacancy rate above the 4.5% U.S. average. It was also the only market with fewer prospects per unit than the 14 found nationwide.

And only Western Los Angeles County had new construction as bigger share of available rentals than the 0.7% U.S. norm.

Yes, six of the 11 markets did have units staying unrented for more than the 35-day national rate.

Still, Californians found a new place more often than average. No market in the state exceeded the 62% national renewal rate.

Post script

Ten toughest places in the U.S. to find an apartment, by this math?

Miami was No. 1, followed by Harrisburg, Pa., Orlando, Southwest Florida, North New Jersey, Grand Rapids, Mich., Rochester, N.Y., Central New Jersey, Milwaukee, and Broward County, Fla.

Jonathan Lansner is the business columnist for the Southern California News Group. He can be reached at jlansner@scng.com