Having ended last year lower than where they started, asking rents for apartments in San Francisco have since ticked up nearly 6 percent since the beginning of the year. But once again, the majority of said gain can be attributed to normal seasonality.
In fact, based on a comparison of nearly 2,500 listings, the weighted average asking rent for an apartment in San Francisco, including one-off rentals as well as units in larger developments, is currently running around $4,250 a month, which is 1.6 percent higher than at the same time last year but remains 5.0 percent below its peak in the fourth quarter of 2015 with the average asking rent for a one-bedroom currently holding around $3,500 a month (having ticked down from $3,650 in 2015 but up from $3,400 at the end of last year).
At the same time, while the weighted average asking rent for an apartment in Oakland is now back to even with where it ended last year (roughly $2,500 a month), it’s running 4.8 percent higher on a year-over-year basis but remains 14.6 percent below a mid-2016 peak, with the average asking rent for a one-bedroom running around $2,100 a month, which is 40 percent less expensive than in San Francisco versus 36 percent less expensive at the same time last year.