Vista Apartments - 11% Vacancy Rate

The average monthly rent for all apartment sizes in San Diego County hit $1,719 this fall, an increase of $200 from a year ago, according to a new survey by the San Diego County Apartment Association.

The weighted average rent for one-bedroom units countywide grew more than any other type -- from $1,368 a month last spring to $1,531 a month this fall.

Units with three or more bedrooms saw an increase from $2,082 a month last spring to $2,323 a month this fall.

Monthly rents for studio apartments rose from $1,084 to $1,128, while rents for two-bedroom units rose from $1,637 to $1,789 a month.

The SDCAA's Fall 2016 survey was mailed to nearly 6,000 rental property owners and managers in San Diego County in September. The responses SDCAA received represent 21,174 rental units with a diversity of properties in size, age and amenity level.

"Rising rents reflect the ongoing housing shortage in San Diego County," SDCAA executive director Alan Pentico said in a statement. "The number of people looking to rent keeps growing, but the supply of rental housing is not growing anywhere fast enough to meet that growing demand."

The vacancy rate in residential rental units across San Diego County is 5.4 percent, according to the SDCAA, a moderate increase from the 4.5 percent vacancy rate reported last spring. The increase is largely attributed to higher vacancies in the North County.

Studios and one-bedroom units continue to have the lowest vacancy rates, at 3.1 percent and 4.6 percent, respectively, according to the SDCAA. The rate for two-bedroom units is 6 percent, while the rate for three-bedroom units is 5.9 percent.

In the city of San Diego, the vacancy rate was little changed at 3.4 percent compared to 3.2 percent last spring. Vacancy rates in other parts of the county dropped significantly, from 6.3 percent to 3.7 percent in South County, and from 6.0 percent to 3.2 percent in East County.

The apartment association said the decline in vacancies in South and East County may mean that new developments, which opened during the spring survey, are now fully leased.

MarketPointe Realty Advisors, which only surveys apartment complexes with 25 or more units but generally includes more units than the SDCAA, reported the countywide vacancy rate at just 2.17 percent -- or less than half the SDCAA figure.

A vacancy rate of 5 percent is optimum in the industry.

SDCAA spokeswoman Molly Kirkland said the SDCAA's vacancy rate was skewed due to a roughly 11.5 percent vacancy rate in Oceanside and Vista. After notching a 2.8 vacancy rate last spring, those areas spiked higher this fall because of the addition of numerous new complexes.

One complex that recently opened in North County was the 288-unit Skye Apartments in Vista constructed by Fairfield Residential.

One market-rate complex scheduled to begin construction early next year in Oceanside is the 338-unit Brisas at Pacific Ridge development at Old Grove Road and College Avenue. It is being developed by Cornerstone Communities.

"While we've seen a fair amount of construction and development activity around the county over the past six months, the amount of new residential construction has actually declined this year compared to 2015," SDCAA's Pentico said.

Kirkland also said not nearly enough apartments are being constructed, and noted there is no chance to improve the situation unless the entitlement process is streamlined.

"We have to get communities to support more projects," Kirkland said. "If a project takes 10 years to approve, you are planning for someone who is in junior high today."

Lengthy processing has led to more expensive units that have higher rents, according to Kirkland.

These factors have led renters to leave for more affordable places like Temecula.

Kirkland said while luxury and affordable units are being developed, almost nothing is being constructed in the middle or Class B range.

"You have to curtail and streamline regulations," she said. "Removing the regulatory burdens ... that's the low-hanging fruit."

By Thor Kamban Biberman

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