Looking for a Pandemic Bargain? Here Are the Places Where Rents Have Fallen the Most
Looking for a Pandemic Bargain? Here Are the Places Where Rents Have Fallen the Most
These are the counties where renters can score the biggest deals on rental apartments, condos, and townhouses as a result of COVID-19.
Sara Ventiera, provided by
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Since COVID-19 shut down just about every perk that makes living in a teeny, overpriced urban studio apartment even remotely worth it, there’s been a whole lot of talk of a mass exodus from the big, expensive cities. After all, the thinking goes, if you re jonesing for more elbow room and likely to be working from home well into the future, why not go elsewhere for a fraction of the price?
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Since COVID-19 shut down just about every perk that makes living in a teeny, overpriced urban studio apartment even remotely worth it, there’s been a whole lot of talk of a mass exodus from the big, expensive cities. After all, the thinking goes, if you’re jonesing for more elbow room and likely to be working from home well into the future, why not go elsewhere for a fraction of the price?
While there are still plenty of buyers willing to wait out the closures in downtown metros, rents fell in 37 of the nation’s 100 largest counties in December, according to realtor.com®’s monthly rent report. Rental prices are plummeting the most in the highest-priced tech hubs with lots of white-collar workers whose offices have closed due to the pandemic and can suddenly work from anywhere with a reliable internet connection.
California eviction moratorium set to expire with rent coming due at end of month
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Thirteen-year-old Nelvin Lopez Velasquez (left) and brother Carlos Lopez Velasquez, 9, do their homework on their school laptops as mother Antonia Lopez and father Nelvin Velasquez watch over them. The family has been living in a Mission District apartment for more than a decade. Nelvin, a handyman, isolated after testing positive for the coronavirus. He has since recovered and lost a majority of his work because of the pandemic. The family is behind more than $6,000 on rent, and debt continues to pile up.Santiago Mejia / The ChronicleShow MoreShow Less
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Scam artists are using San Francisco s coronavirus safety rules to trick renters looking for a good deal
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Sean McCormick (left) and Alex Westhoff pose for a portrait outside of the home they were scammed out of in San Francisco, Calif. Friday, January 8, 2021. McCormick and Westhoff were the victims of a real estate scam where they paid $13,000 to rent an apartment at 2630 Leavenworth from someone who didn t actually own it. They thought they had signed a lease to move to North Beach but lost their money instead.Jessica Christian / The Chronicle
The plunge in San Francisco’s apartment market fueled by the coronavirus pandemic has been a blessing for thousands of tenants who have successfully haggled with their landlord for lower rents or moved into units that are at least 25% less expensive than they were a year ago.
Coronavirus pandemic keeping San Francisco apartments empty, rents low
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A pedestrian looks at a “For Rent” sign in a window on Hayes Street in San Francisco in October rents are still low while apartments are still vacant, fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.Nick Otto / Special to The Chronicle 2020
San Francisco’s rental housing market is starting the new year much as it ended the old one: Rents are dropping, vacancies are climbing, and landlords and tenants alike are muddling through the pandemic’s 10th month without knowing when or whether life and work will return to normal.
An Apartment List report released Tuesday shows that rents in San Francisco, the country’s most expensive market, dipped 2.7% in December and have dropped 26.7% since March, pushing the median two-bedroom monthly rent from over $3,000 to to $2,305. A report from another group, Zumper, had rents down 24% year over year.