Joe Florkowski The average monthly rent for a two-bedroom apartment in the Inland Empire is expected to rise to nearly $1,100 this year, according to a forecast from USC. The rise in rents comes at a time when a record number of apartments are being built in the Inland Empire, according to the Casden Real Estate Economic Forecast. Apartment rental rates are increasing because a growing work force in the Inland Empire is creating more demand for them, said Delores Conway, director of the USC Lusk Center, which issued the report. "It's not that people are living out there and commuting to Orange County," Conway said. "The jobs are there." Developers are following the growth in Riverside and San Bernardino counties and are building to accommodate, she said.
