If you’ve been a renter since before the pandemic, chances are your wallet has taken a hit.

Since 2019, San Diego rent has increased 41 percent, or $658 a month, for a one-bedroom unit, said a LendingTree study. It’s almost hard to imagine now, but rent in San Diego County was $1,590 on average five years ago, compared to roughly $2,248 today.

The surprising thing for locals might be that average rents in San Diego metro, which includes all of the county, only had the seventh-highest increase in the nation out of the 50 largest metros. New York tops the list: Up $852 a month, or 53 percent, followed by Miami ($737), Phoenix ($731), Seattle ($712), Sacramento ($698) and Atlanta ($677).

LendingTree, which used fair market rent data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, ranked metros by average dollar change, not percentages. Still, looking at the percentage change can be fairly shocking. Phoenix ($1,599 for a one-bedroom) is up 84 percent since 2019, Las Vegas ($1,377) up 74 percent and Sacramento ($1,666) up 72 percent.

The average increase across all 50 metros for a one-bedroom was 46 percent, meaning San Diego was slightly under the average.

While rent increases have cooled across most metros over the past few months, LendingTree senior economist Jacob Channel says that housing supply is still an issue.

“Ultimately, our study further highlights just how much more expensive housing has gotten in the years since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Channel wrote in his analysis. “It also reaffirms the need for more housing construction in the nation’s largest metros by acknowledging that increasing housing supply is one of the best ways to bring housing costs down.”

LendingTree argues it is cheaper to rent than own in expensive areas, when considering a monthly mortgage compared to rent. It said the biggest gaps between rent and mortgage payments were in San Jose and San Francisco. San Diego ranked seventh in that list as well.

Even with San Diego’s comparatively lower rent increases, it is still one of the most expensive places to rent in the nation. Out of the 50 largest metros, San Diego ranks No. 6.

The most expensive places to rent were San Francisco, $2,818 a month for a one-bedroom; San Jose, $2,694 a month; and New York, $2,451 a month.

One place rents hardly moved was Raleigh, N.C. The average rent there was $711 a month for a one-bedroom, an increase of $61, or 9 percent, since 2019. Other places with smaller percentage increases were San Francisco, up 10 percent, and San Jose, up 16 percent.

Rent increases may seem small in some metros but, typically, the most expensive rent areas have higher wages.

LendingTree also broke down data by two-bedroom units but most of the rankings stayed around the same as one-bedrooms. San Diego’s average rent for a two-bedroom went from $2,068 a month in 2019 to $2,833 a month this year. That ranks it the sixth highest increase of the 50 metros, with its 37 percent gain. New York tops that list, too, with its $2,752 average rent, increasing $921, or 50 percent, since 2019.

Rent prices could become an issue in the upcoming election cycle. Vice President Kamala Harris, as part of her presidential bid, said at her rally in Atlanta two weeks ago that she would “take on corporate landlords and cap unfair rent increases.” Harris said her plan would be to limit rent increases to 5 percent for two years for landlords that own more than 50 units.

Former President Donald Trump also has a housing policy, which doesn’t necessarily mention rent, but could increase housing construction. The 2024 Republican Party platform says it will seek to open up federal lands, mostly in western states, for housing production.

Source: SDuniontribune by Phillip Molnar