Demand for apartments combined with a lack of new rental development and significant single-family home appreciation has equated to nation-leading rent growth in Oakland.
Spanning November 2014 to November 2015, the median rent of a one-bedroom apartment grew by 19 percent in the city, the largest year-over-year rise of any large metro, according to findings from Zumper.
For perspective, the median rent of a one bedroom in San Jose currently stands at $2,130. San Francisco remains the most expensive rental market in the country, with a median one-bedroom rent of $3,500.
When eyeing two-bedroom units the situation isn’t much better in Oakland. According to Zumper, the median rent of such a unit reached $2,550 during November, which equated to a 13.3 percent year-over-year rise. What jumps out more, two-bedroom rents within the city ballooned by 10.4 percent on a quarter-over-quarter basis.
In addition to being the top metro for rent growth, Oakland was recently singled out by Trulia for experiencing the most home price appreciation, 48.5 percent, since 2012.
While Oakland has a pipeline of multifamily developments lined up few have yet to break ground. To address the need for more affordable rentals the city has proposed builder fees that would increase the cost of new housing projects.
These fees would partially be utilized to fund affordable housing projects. The city’s planning commission has also considered rule changes that would encourage homeowners to build secondary housing units on their properties.
