Rents are declining across the country according to the Zumper National Rent Index. In fact, it’s the fourth straight month of declining rental prices across the United States.
Yet, what does that mean for renters in San Diego?
The national average price for a one-bedroom rental apartment is $1,650, according to both Zumper and Apartments.com—a price that Californians are hard-pressed to match, with a median rent price of $2,059.
At the top of the rental market in California, sits San Francisco with an average rental price of $3,110 per month, which is 91% higher than the national rent price.
Yet, in Southern California, the rental market “is facing a surge in supply, giving renters a bit more leeway, according to Zumper. Both Los Angeles and Orange County are seeing declining rents. This is due to “massive rental developments have been built and are opening along the I-15 and I-215 freeways in Riverside and San Bernardino counties.”
The one-bedroom rental prices in Los Angeles and the Inland Empire continued their downward track in October, marking the fifth consecutive month of annual rent declines….
Unlike Los Angeles and the Inland Empire, both the San Diego and Orange County rental markets are expected to see an increase in the number of properties through 2026, making these two markets among the few nationwide where supply volumes are anticipated to grow by more than 70% over the next 12 months.
This indicates a significant shift for these cities, which have historically experienced constrained construction activity, according to our Zumper expert. “That impact is already visible in the rent data,” they say.
In San Diego, one-bedroom rents have declined 6.3% annually, while two-bedroom rents are down 4.8%. …In San Diego, finding a one-bedroom apartment below $1,950 is a challenging task, according to results on Apartments.com, unless you are seeking a home in a 55+ senior community. Some areas in El Cajon offer rentals between $1,700 to $1,950, according to our Apartments.com search.
These trends are confirmed in RealPage, in a post entitled, “10 U.S. Apartment Markets Set to See Deliveries Increase Next Year.”
The biggest increase in apartment supply in the coming year is set for Los Angeles. A little over 8,000 units competed here in the year-ending 2nd quarter 2025, and deliveries are scheduled to nearly double in the coming year to over 15,500 units. Construction delays are common in Los Angeles, meaning those numbers could change, but as they are now, this market is expected to see new deliveries hit peak volumes in mid-2026.
Two other California markets are among the few scheduled to see deliveries increase in the coming year: San Diego and Anaheim. Supply volumes in these markets have been limited recently, but are expected to increase by more than 70% in each over the next 12 months.
Neither of these sources address affordability or affordable housing, but do cite the trends — more apartments are coming to San Diego and San Diego rents have been declining.
With the SB 79 Passage that was signed into law by Blogger, Influencer and Part Time Governor Gavin-I’m-gonna-get-me-mine-cha-ching-Newsom, is already resulting in 100,000’s of luxury high rise corporate apartment proposals of overpriced rentals throughout San Diego County and coastal California to inundate our market. By design and by way of One Party Rule’s self serving profiteering, means rents and homelessness will skyrocket by a factor of 10!
SB 79 is already ” resulting in 100,000’s of luxury high rise corporate apartment proposals of overpriced rentals throughout San Diego County and coastal California”??!! I don’t think it even goes into effect until next year. Yeah, many of us are disappointed in the passage of this one.
Key word being “proposals”. I doubt for a moment that you believe developers are lacking predatory-ready-made-high rise apartment building plans ready to propose throughout the state.
I’m sure you’re right there.