Rents Rising at LA County's Large Complexes

Novato-based RealFacts, which tracks rents at complexes of 100 units or more, says that the LA County rent boost was the highest dollar increase in the western region, but the second-highest percentage increase. The honors for percentage increase went to the Inland Empire-Riverside and San Bernardino counties--with an upward bump of 2.3%, compared to LA's 1.7%.

RealFacts says the average renter in the county's 100-unit and larger complexes now pays $1,326 to the building owner every month. That means it is now more expensive to live in Los Angeles than in Silicon Valley, where the average rent fell again this quarter, to $1,308. The only Californians who pay more than Los Angeles renters are those in San Francisco, with an average rent of $1,554.

"As a county of extremes, Los Angeles obviously has a large number of residents able to pay more than $15,000 a year to rent an apartment," the RealFacts report says. But the study also points out that the county has a high poverty rate. The report cites a survey by the Institute for the Study of Homelessness and Poverty that shows about 18% of Los Angeles County residents live below the poverty level. Even with the recent increase in minimum wage, a worker will earn $1,170 per month in gross income--not enough to rent the average apartment.

The average occupancy rate in Los Angeles, which stayed above 95% through the end of 2002, fell below that level in March 2003, and fell again in June to 94.5%. The RealFacts report blamed the decline on the "relentless pace of building in the county," where nearly 7% of the rental housing stock in large complexes has been built in the past four years.