Rising Home Prices Sending Rents Higher in Southern California

By Kelly Hartog

The 2013 USC Casden Multifamily Forecast projects two more years of rent increases as the region's rental housing market continues to absorb units faster than it completes them. Between the second quarters of 2012 and 2013, the four Southern California apartment markets -- Los Angeles, Orange, and San Diego counties and the Inland Empire -- completed almost 6,700 new units, a three-year high. However, it absorbed nearly 11,900 units during the same period.

USC Lusk Center for Real Estate Director Richard Green, who along with USC's Vincent Reina and the California Association of Realtors' Selma Hepp authored the study, says the multifamily market is being fueled by deteriorating home affordability. "Despite marked improvements in employment and the overall economy, the rapid increase in home prices and interest rates are pricing first-time homebuyers out of the local market," Green said. "As more and more of these households become renters instead of buyers, we will continue to see fewer vacancies and higher rents."

Read the rest of the story at Santa Monica Patch.

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