As a renter in San Diego going on 9 years, I can tell you that I have personally experienced rents increasing. We try to keep our rent under $2,000 a month, but it is getting increasingly harder for us to do. We are priced out of the areas we once could afford and keep moving farther North in order to keep our budget.
We’ve been in San Elijo now for a year, and our landlord is going into foreclosure, so we have to move yet AGAIN. Listings on Craigslist for this area have doubled since last year, yet the identical condo across the street from us is asking for $400 more than what we pay now, a 22% increase.
More supply, plus higher prices? Or is Craigslist not a good indicator? It has occurred to me that some of these listings may also be distressed properties, which makes it even more treacherous for unsuspecting renters.
We are lucky (in a way!) that we couldn’t afford to buy during the bubble, we dodged that bullet, however, it doesn’t mean renters necessarily have it easy either.
