USC Lusk Center Casden Forecast Shows 2010 Apartment Rents Declining in LA and Orange Counties, Rising in San Diego and Staying Flat in the Inland Empire
Investors Business Daily
... "Overall, Southern California will not see sustained increases in rents until the greater economic health of the region improves, but renters in San Diego may experience the kind of slight increase that comes when jobs return and housing is still too costly for renters to become buyers," said Tracey Seslen, Ph.D., co-author of this year's Casden Multifamily Market Forecast. The future health of the Southern California multifamily market continues to be shaped by jobs, housing prices, the "shadow" market of rental homes and condos, and new construction, Seslen explained.
While housing prices have dropped precipitously due to the surging rate of foreclosures in the Inland Empire region of Riverside and San Bernardino counties, the low-cost homes are being snapped up by all-cash buyers, not renters, who often lack 20-percent down payments and the income needed to qualify for a mortgage, according to Richard K. Green, Ph.D., director of the USC Lusk Center and co-author of the Casden Forecast. "Housing is more affordable across the region, but low consumer confidence is keeping many first-time buyers on the fence and move-up buyers that lost equity are staying put. That opens the door for an increase in rents," he added...