Renters Have an Advantage as Occupancy, Prices Decline

Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Stephanie Hoops
Ventura County Star

Apartment renters continue cruising with a negotiating advantage when it comes to rent prices, according to a survey released today.

Rents, which are declining nationwide, continued to drop at large apartment complexes during the second quarter in Ventura County, with the average down 6.7 percent from the same period a year ago to $1,447 per month, according to RealFacts. The Novato, Calif.-based market information firm tracks complexes of 100 units or more.

With average occupancy in the county declining 0.4 percent over the same span to 93.6 percent, landlords are getting creative with attempts to attract and retain tenants.

Property owners aren't above offering potential tenants marble countertops, flat-screen TVs and gym memberships to entice them to sign leases of a year or more, according to Eric Wiegers, spokesman for the California Apartment Association in Sacramento.

"It can get a little competitive out there," he said.

Owners and property managers also are showing more willingness to allow pets. Wiegers said one of the association's industry partners, Chicago-based Apartments.com, recently surveyed 1,000 renters and found 90 percent of them want or have a pet.

Landlords are taking notice.

"A lot of folks who've gone into foreclosure and lost their homes need to rent and they have pets," Wiegers said. "I think our industry is waking up to the fact that people want to have their pets."

Ventura County remains the fifth most expensive place to rent in California, with the most expensive being Santa Cruz County, where the average rent is $1,593 per month.

The RealFacts survey included 65 complexes in Oxnard, Thousand Oaks, Ventura, Simi Valley and Camarillo. The biggest decreases were reported in Simi Valley, 11.8 percent to $1,436, and Ventura, 8.2 percent to $1,355.

The average rent was flat for six quarters dating back to 2007, hovering at about $1,550, before falling to $1,515 in the fourth quarter last year and $1,473 in the first quarter this year, according to RealFacts.

"It's definitely become a renters' market," said Sarah Bridge, co-founder and consultant of RealFacts. "I think what the renters are saying is that they really want to negotiate the best possible price up front."

Just giving renters a month's rent free or some other concession isn't enough any more, Bridge said. "They're really just looking for the best value and if they have good credit, then they have the negotiating leverage to get that value," she said.

The RealFacts data focuses on large complexes that have full amenities, such as swimming pools, meeting rooms, gyms and other features.

Another firm that tracks rents, Ventura-based Dyer Sheehan Group Inc., considers 185 properties of various sizes. Its latest data is in sync with RealFacts' findings, showing an overall decline in rent prices of almost 7 percent in the last year, across the board.

President Dawn Dyer believes tenants will have the most luck negotiating leases at high-end properties that now must compete with houses and condominiums that owners, unable to sell, are leasing.

"There's that shadow market," she said. "So there's more competition at the higher end."

FAIR USE NOTICE. This document may contain copyrighted material the use of which may not have been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Tenants Together is making this article available on our website in an effort to advance the understanding of tenant rights issues in California. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Help build power for renters' rights: