While effective asking rent growth in San Diego has come down from recent highs, the performance here is still double the price increases in the rest of the region. Effective asking rents in San Diego were up 5.1% in the year-ending 2nd quarter, according to RealPage Market Analytics. Among the nation’s largest 50 apartment markets, San Diego ranked in the top five for annual rent growth, bested by only Newark, Cincinnati, Indianapolis and Miami. San Diego price hikes are nearly double the second-best performance in the West region – San Jose at 2.8% – and the national norm – 2.4%. The price gap is even bigger when holding San Diego up to the market’s regional peers: Los Angeles (1.7%), Anaheim (1.2%) and Riverside (0.9%). Helping support rent growth in San Diego, occupancy rates here continue to increase, in contrast to what is happening across much of the nation. Boosting occupancy in San Diego, apartment construction activity continues at manageable levels, allowing the market to absorb units at a healthy pace as they come online.
