Bay Area Rental Trends

So appreciate getting feedback on my postings, your input really helps me!  It was recently pointed out to me that I haven’t posted information on rental pricing, so this post addresses rentals in five Silicon Valley cities:  Cupertino, Los Altos, Mountain View, Palo Alto, and Sunnyvale, the cities I get asked about most!

Traditionally, it’s tough to rent houses and properties like cottages, demand often exceeds supply.  Renting a condo or townhome can be a little easier and, of course, leasing an apartment is the easiest (with the exception of Los Altos which has a lower number of apartments to choose from).  Recently there’s been a ton of new apartments built or in the process of being built, everywhere you drive you’ll see a new apartment complex being framed.  Wait and see, in a year or two we’ll have apartments lowering prices and/or offering special discounts!

While the rental housing market was tough for tenants prior to Covid, once Covid hit, rental prices dropped in many areas and it was a tenant’s dream as people left the Bay area (the chart says it all).  With many no longer having the option to work remotely, people are returning to the Bay area and rents are increasing (compare 2022 to 2020 and 2021).  While rents are not back to their pre-Covid numbers, the trend is no longer downwards.  If you’re currently renting, don’t be surprised if your rent is increased this year.

In the chart, I’ve shown the median price of rents for houses on one line and for apartments, condos, and townhomes on another line.  I understand this information is not specific but it will give you a general idea of pricing.  (All information I quote on the chart is from the Multiple Listing System, I don’t have access to private off market information.)

I must say that Zillow does a good job on rentals.  The following link is to the Zillow rental area, you can check it out and it’s a good resource for general information.