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With the high cost of living Southern Californian’s are being forced to rent and put the American dream of being a homeowner on hold. University of Southern California’s Casden Multifamily Forecast said on Wednesday that rent in Southern California will continue to rise for the next to years. In many areas landlords have been demolishing old apartments to build new apartments building and raise the rent.

What does this mean for apartment renters?

City Hall is well on its way to requiring developers to help pay for affordable apartments, the governor recently signed legislation that could lead to $4 billion in new housing funds, and a slough of new units downtown has goosed the vacancy rate and slowed rent increases.

Southern California apartment rents are expected to get even pricer over the next two years, as demand increases along with job growth, a report released Wednesday said.

In this file photo, a sign advertising apartments for rent is displayed in front of an apartment complex July 8, 2009 in San Francisco. (Credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

In Los Angeles County, average rents in 2018 are forecast to hit $2,304, up 3% from the previous year. In 2019, rents are expected to climb another 3%, to $2,373, according to the annual USC Casden Real Estate Economics Forecast.

If you are looking to live in the greater Los Angeles area, you better have a lot of money.  Southern California rents are high and expected to go even higher in the next few years, even though the rate of increase has slowed down for now.

Richard Green, director of the USC Lusk Center for Real Estate, says that slowdown probably reflects a flood of new apartment buildings that have recently opened. But he doesn’t expect the trend to continue. He says the biggest issue involves how Los Angeles is zoned.

Southern California rental prices have spiked sharply in recent years, and a new report from the University of Southern California Lusk Center for Real Estate and Beacon Economics suggests that renters won’t get much relief from that trend in coming years.

According to the report, presented Wednesday at a conference in Downtown LA, average rents in Los Angeles County are expected to jump by $136 per month over the next two years. The report’s authors estimate the average monthly rent now is $2,237, with a countywide vacancy rate of just 3.94 percent.

The 2017 University of Southern California Casden Economics Forecast predicts that rising employment combined with an ongoing lull in homeownership will again drive rent increases over the next two years throughout the region.

The forecast, which is produced annually by the USC Lusk Center for Real Estate in partnership with Beacon Economics, found that by 2019, average monthly rents are expected to increase over 2017 levels by $136 in Los Angeles County, $149 in Orange County, $124 in the Inland Empire, $121 in San Diego County, and $98 in Ventura County.

Southern California wages are rising but a new report from University of Southern California shows that’s not going to make rents more affordable in the long run. 

The annual USC Casden Real Estate Economics Forecast found that rents will keep rising over the next two years because the supply of apartments is tight and not enough new housing is coming online.

In Los Angeles County, average monthly rents are expected to rise to $2,373 by 2019 — up $136 from the 2017 average.

2017 USC CASDEN Real estate economics FORECAST:

triple-digit rent increases projected for much of southern california over THE NEXT TWO YEARS

Renters in Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties, and the Inland Empire expected to pay an additional $121-149 each month by 2019; Ventura County also expecting increases

Blau Journal: "Cappuccino Conversations with Leaders in Real Estate"

Anthony Bayer

Conversation with Richard Green, Chair of the USC Lusk Center for Real Estate

Was the housing crisis caused by Prop 13?

Proposition 13 limits how fast property taxes can grow, and depending on who you talk to, people either love it or hate it.

Leo Duran

"It’s without a doubt one of the stupidest tax rules in the history of taxes," says economist and hater Chris Thornberg, who says Prop 13 deserves most of the blame for the housing crisis. "Ultimately, I think it’s 90 percent."

PROP 13 WAS CREATED TO HELP BELEAGUERED HOMEOWNERS