Affordability Crisis Is Impacting Renter Satisfaction

Irvine, CA

The affordability crisis is prevalent throughout Orange County. According to a recent report from Apartment List, Orange County’s top apartment submarkets receive low scores in affordability. Irvine and Anaheim both received an F rating from local rents and Santa Ana—a historically more affordable market—received a D rating from local renters. Affordability is one of the biggest deterrents in multifamily activity, but despite the low affordability scores, Irvine received an A+ in overall renter satisfaction and Anaheim received a C overall renter satisfaction score, while Santa Ana received the lowest score at a D rating.

“In Santa Ana, the people that are long-term residents are unhappy with the changes, and the new residents that are moving there are moving there because it is a more feasible option; however, it doesn’t really offer exactly what they are looking for. As a result, I think that you get a lot of renters there that are unhappy because they moved somewhere that they preferred for lower prices,” Sydney Bennet, senior research associate at Apartment List, tells GlobeSt.com. “When people make that trade-off, sometimes they don’t like the place that they move. However, the market is still not doing well in its affordability score, and that is likely due to long-term residents that are living in the area.”