Harbor Property Management Discusses Rising Rents With OC Register

Harbor Property Management broker Scott Colette was recently quoted in an Orange Country Register article about the sky-rocketing rent for Southern California apartments.

“It’s crazy,” said Colette told the OC Register. “We are seeing (rents for apartments) I used to see for single-family homes.”

High demand and very little vacancies are what’s driving rents higher for apartments, condos, and houses in Southern California than any other year.

High Demand, Little Availability

According to rental data cited in the article:

Orange County rents were $1,885 a month in the first quarter, up $73 a month or 3.8 percent year over year. In the Inland Empire, apartment rents averaged $1,319 a month, up $42 monthly or 3.0 percent from the first quarter of 2017.

Vacancies in the region, meanwhile, ranged from 3.2 percent in the Inland Empire to 3.4 percent in L.A. County and 3.8 percent in Orange County.

Rental Market Remains Hot

Colette says when new rentals come on the market, especially in the South Bay area where Harbor Property Management serves, they fill up within weeks. In fact, Harbor averages 3-to-5 applications for every vacancy.

The typical winter slump, which traditionally slows down the market, just isn’t happening anymore. The demand is always there.

“In the last two to three years, we have not had a slowdown in the rental market,” Colette told the OC Register. “People call me and ask, ‘When is a good time to put my home on the market?’ I say, ‘Now.’”

To read more from the OC Register article, please click HERE.

Make the Smart Choice for Rental Property Management

Harbor Property Management offers professional and efficient management services in the South Bay at a fair price, along with open and honest communication.

Our brokers have decades of combined experience in real estate sales, management and maintenance. Our network of affiliates and partners is unsurpassed in the property management business.