[quote=4plexowner]”Rent is very seasonal based on my observation for the last 5 years. The differences can be as much as 20% between winter and summer”
I call BS on this one – 20% difference???
Not in any of my bread-and-butter rentals or any of the comps that I followed in order to set my rental rates – perhaps you are referring to higher end rentals like above $2500/mo?
What does happen in the winter is that it becomes harder to rent a vacant unit so landlords become more flexible – having a vacancy in Nov, Dec, Jan really sucks because very few people are looking to move in that timeframe
But to drop a $1200 rent to $960, or a $1800 rent to $1440 – no, I don’t think so
Face it, vacancies are increasing and rents are declining[/quote]
Spring 2008, when I rented my 2/2 apartment in Mira Mesa, rent were around 1350-1400. Summer (June-August) 2008, they all shot up to 1600-1650. I’m talking about craigslist with private owners. If you’re talking about apartment, the price per month is not as noticeable, but you can easily get one month free in the winter time vs summer. Price is also easier to negotiate during the winter too. Call BS all you want but that was my experience last year and the year before when I was looking for rent in Mira Mesa. I keep an eye on rent all year, just so I know when I should move. 20% is extreme but 15% is quite normal in my experience. Maybe these landlords are not as experienced as you are.
