Following a nominal slip at the end of last year, the average asking rent for an apartment in a building with over 50 units in San Francisco inched up $4 a month (0.1 percent) to $3,620 in the first quarter of 2016 and $16 a month (0.7 percent) to $2,121 in the East Bay.
Asking rents were up $38 a month (1.7 percent) to $2,264 in Alameda County, which includes Oakland, and $29 a month (1.2 percent) across the greater Bay Area, according to data from Cushman & Wakefield.
The average vacancy rate in San Francisco dropped to 4.8 percent in the first quarter of the year versus 3.4 percent in the East Bay and 3.1 percent in Alameda County. That being said, there are roughly 7,300 units of housing under construction in San Francisco, including at least a thousand new apartments which will be ready for occupancy within the next couple of months while gains in employment have stalled.
How the hell is a 3/2 cheaper than a 2/2 in SF county?
It could be 3/2 is found more in lower priced outlying area, while 2/2 is found more in high priced, central and hip area.
[Editor’s Note: In addition, with a trend towards smaller units, the average age of the 3/2’s is older.]
UPDATE: San Francisco Rents Slip While East Bay Rents Climb