Apartment rents are on the rise again in San Diego County after slowing a bit over the past year, according to at least one report which ranked the county among the most expensive rental markets in the nation.

In a survey of 50 metropolitan areas, San Diego tied with Santa Ana in tenth place when it comes to having the highest monthly rents for one-bedroom apartments — $1,750 in September 2019, according to a national rent report by Zumper — an apartment listing service.

The median September rent in San Diego County for a one-bedroom apartment was 3.3% less than it was a year ago and the same as it was in August, according to Zumper, although rental rates are rising for two-bedroom apartments.

In September, the median rent for a two-bedroom apartment jumped 2% in September over August, nearly back up to where it was a year ago at $2,450, according to Zumper.

San Francisco Still No. 1

The most expensive city for a one-bedroom apartment in September was San Francisco at $3,540 with New York second at $3,030. A two-bedroom apartment runs at $4,790 in San Francisco and a more modest $3,440 in New York.

The lowest monthly rent for a one-bedroom apartment was in Raleigh, North Carolina, at $1,060.

The ranking was the same for two-bedroom apartments with San Francisco topping the list at $4,790 a month and Raleigh at the bottom at $1,250.

Nationally, the trend was for rising rents, with monthly rates increasing 4% to 5% with one-bedroom apartments going for $1,250 a month and two-bedroom apartments going for $1,690.

Within San Diego County, Coronado has the most expensive apartments, according to Zumper, although the company’s latest city-by-city breakdown within the county was for July when the median monthly in Coronado was $2,630 for a one-bedroom apartment and $3,800 for a two-bedroom apartment.

Lowest Rents in San Diego County

El Cajon had the lowest monthly rates in the county in July with a median rate of $1,300 for a one-bedroom apartment and $1,600 for a two-bedroom apartment.

A report by another apartment listing service, RentCafe, showed apartment rental rates declining slightly heading into the end of summer, with rates flat in Mission Valley and up slightly in La Jolla.

“The slight month-over-month decreases are caused by seasonal changes associated with the end of the peak rental season,” said Sanziana Bona, a research analyst at RentCafe.

Unlike Zumper, RentCafe reported that apartment rents for the full year so far are higher than they were a year ago.

The overall trend countywide is for rents to continue rising, according to RentCafe.

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