San Diego Hates Landlords — Here’s the Proof
Real Estate Broker · Cleveland Dayton Cincinnati Toledo Columbus & Akron, OH · Member since 2013 · 30k+ posts · 20k+ votes
San Diego Hates Landlords — Here’s the Proof
4 Replies
- 8moDan H.Pro MemberInvestor · Poway, CA · Member since 2015 · 7k+ posts · 8k+ votes
You explicitly indicate San Diego in your title. Have you looked up the delinquency rate in San Diego? Have you looked up the eviction rate in San Diego? Have you looked up the average rents in San Diego? Do you know what the state rent control max increase is?
San Diego has one of the lowest eviction rates in the country. Duh! It is hard to evict, but is that the full story? The delinquency rate is one of the lowest in the country. This indicates that there is something else besides the difficult in evicting in the low eviction rate as paying tenants seldom get evicted.
So what is it? It is an extreme housing shortage. I have a class c, 4/2 for rent currently in a class c- location. My tenant qualifications in this class c- location (I have higher qualifications in my higher class areas) is 3x rent, 650 minimum tenant score for all adults, strong LL reference with clear indication that paying on time is not by itself a strong LL reference, no evictions ever, no bankruptcies ever. I had 5 applicants and one has met all criteria (collecting holding deposit tomorrow). Note this was for a late December move out (near hardest time to place new tenants).
in 50 years of family having rental units (at far lower counts than James - not even in same galaxy as James so I greatly value his experience and insight in his markets) I have yet to evict a tenant and have yet to not collect a full month of rent.
Now for the state rent control increase, it is local CPI + 5% capped at 10%. Since it went into effect the 10% has been the limit all years except twice. Lowest max rent increase since it went into effect in San Diego is 8.6%. This does not mean I like rent control, I do not. But 8.6% to 10% increase (with almost all years being 10%) is not the primary reason I do not like rent control. Do the Ohio markets ever have market rent growth of 10%? Judging by their current market rents it would be very rare.
As for the average rent, remember nothing correlates to achieved cash flow over a long period of hold better than rent growth. High rents are achieved by high rent growth. The implication is San Diego has historically produced outstanding cash flow over long holds if no value is extracted from the property (in practice few RE educated investors would take the approach and leave large equity in their properties, leverage is RE investors Rock of Gibraltar).
Average apartment rent, source rent cafe. In general, SFH Rent for more than apartments.
2026
Average Rent Average Apartment Size All Rentals $2,938 876 sq. ft. Studio $2,194 505 sq. ft. 1 Bed $2,628 707 sq. ft. 2 Beds $3,202 1,032 sq. ft. 3 Beds $3,925 1,301 sq. ft.
As indicated, James is very knowledgeable in his markets. He is not very knowledgeable about San Diego RE markets judging by this post.
I believe newbies should start local. This post is not suggesting a newbie OOS RE investor should choose San Diego RE to invest (it can be very rewarding but it has challenges like all RE markets).Best wishes
- Real Estate Broker · Cleveland Dayton Cincinnati Toledo Columbus & Akron, OH · Member since 2013 · 30k+ posts · 20k+ votes8mo
Quote from @Dan H.:
You explicitly indicate San Diego in your title. Have you looked up the delinquency rate in San Diego? Have you looked up the eviction rate in San Diego? Have you looked up the average rents in San Diego? Do you know what the state rent control max increase is?
San Diego has one of the lowest eviction rates in the country. Duh! It is hard to evict, but is that the full story? The delinquency rate is one of the lowest in the country. This indicates that there is something else besides the difficult in evicting in the low eviction rate as paying tenants seldom get evicted.
So what is it? It is an extreme housing shortage. I have a class c, 4/2 for rent currently in a class c- location. My tenant qualifications in this class c- location (I have higher qualifications in my higher class areas) is 3x rent, 650 minimum tenant score for all adults, strong LL reference with clear indication that paying on time is not by itself a strong LL reference, no evictions ever, no bankruptcies ever. I had 5 applicants and one has met all criteria (collecting holding deposit tomorrow). Note this was for a late December move out (near hardest time to place new tenants).
in 50 years of family having rental units (at far lower counts than James - not even in same galaxy as James so I greatly value his experience and insight in his markets) I have yet to evict a tenant and have yet to not collect a full month of rent.
Now for the state rent control increase, it is local CPI + 5% capped at 10%. Since it went into effect the 10% has been the limit all years except twice. Lowest max rent increase since it went into effect in San Diego is 8.6%. This does not mean I like rent control, I do not. But 8.6% to 10% increase (with almost all years being 10%) is not the primary reason I do not like rent control. Do the Ohio markets ever have market rent growth of 10%? Judging by their current market rents it would be very rare.
As for the average rent, remember nothing correlates to achieved cash flow over a long period of hold better than rent growth. High rents are achieved by high rent growth. The implication is San Diego has historically produced outstanding cash flow over long holds if no value is extracted from the property (in practice few RE educated investors would take the approach and leave large equity in their properties, leverage is RE investors Rock of Gibraltar).
Average apartment rent, source rent cafe. In general, SFH Rent for more than apartments.
2026
Average Rent Average Apartment Size All Rentals $2,938 876 sq. ft. Studio $2,194 505 sq. ft. 1 Bed $2,628 707 sq. ft. 2 Beds $3,202 1,032 sq. ft. 3 Beds $3,925 1,301 sq. ft.
As indicated, James is very knowledgeable in his markets. He is not very knowledgeable about San Diego RE markets judging by this post.
I believe newbies should start local. This post is not suggesting a newbie OOS RE investor should choose San Diego RE to invest (it can be very rewarding but it has challenges like all RE markets).Best wishes
- 8moDan H.Pro MemberInvestor · Poway, CA · Member since 2015 · 7k+ posts · 8k+ votesWant me to stop providing facts that do not support your narrative? 😂
Quote from @James Wise:
Quote from @Dan H.:
You explicitly indicate San Diego in your title. Have you looked up the delinquency rate in San Diego? Have you looked up the eviction rate in San Diego? Have you looked up the average rents in San Diego? Do you know what the state rent control max increase is?
San Diego has one of the lowest eviction rates in the country. Duh! It is hard to evict, but is that the full story? The delinquency rate is one of the lowest in the country. This indicates that there is something else besides the difficult in evicting in the low eviction rate as paying tenants seldom get evicted.
So what is it? It is an extreme housing shortage. I have a class c, 4/2 for rent currently in a class c- location. My tenant qualifications in this class c- location (I have higher qualifications in my higher class areas) is 3x rent, 650 minimum tenant score for all adults, strong LL reference with clear indication that paying on time is not by itself a strong LL reference, no evictions ever, no bankruptcies ever. I had 5 applicants and one has met all criteria (collecting holding deposit tomorrow). Note this was for a late December move out (near hardest time to place new tenants).
in 50 years of family having rental units (at far lower counts than James - not even in same galaxy as James so I greatly value his experience and insight in his markets) I have yet to evict a tenant and have yet to not collect a full month of rent.
Now for the state rent control increase, it is local CPI + 5% capped at 10%. Since it went into effect the 10% has been the limit all years except twice. Lowest max rent increase since it went into effect in San Diego is 8.6%. This does not mean I like rent control, I do not. But 8.6% to 10% increase (with almost all years being 10%) is not the primary reason I do not like rent control. Do the Ohio markets ever have market rent growth of 10%? Judging by their current market rents it would be very rare.
As for the average rent, remember nothing correlates to achieved cash flow over a long period of hold better than rent growth. High rents are achieved by high rent growth. The implication is San Diego has historically produced outstanding cash flow over long holds if no value is extracted from the property (in practice few RE educated investors would take the approach and leave large equity in their properties, leverage is RE investors Rock of Gibraltar).
Average apartment rent, source rent cafe. In general, SFH Rent for more than apartments.
2026
Average Rent Average Apartment Size All Rentals $2,938 876 sq. ft. Studio $2,194 505 sq. ft. 1 Bed $2,628 707 sq. ft. 2 Beds $3,202 1,032 sq. ft. 3 Beds $3,925 1,301 sq. ft.
As indicated, James is very knowledgeable in his markets. He is not very knowledgeable about San Diego RE markets judging by this post.
I believe newbies should start local. This post is not suggesting a newbie OOS RE investor should choose San Diego RE to invest (it can be very rewarding but it has challenges like all RE markets).Best wishes
I understand that you may be trying to market to potential San Diego invests but you would be better served by
1) extolling the merits of your market
2) researching the facts and not attempt to mislead. I suspect you know that in virtually every year the state rent control has capped rents at 10% but conveniently excluded this info.
san diego RE has historically produced outstanding appreciation, rent growth, cash flow for long holds, has outstanding tenants as reflected by their delinquency and eviction rates, near fixed property tax, and has outstanding weather. What else can an RE investor want? The weather at my house is forecast at low 80s. The weather forecast at San Diego official location is forecast as high 70s (it is a few hundred yards from the bay).
note this is San Diego’s off season. Here is my STR calendars for the offseason:
note some/many of these vacancies will still book, so this calendar reflects a vacancy rate higher than reality, and this is the offseason.
the owner’s block on 2 units was for my son’s girlfriend’s birthday. They and their friends get to stay at two beach units with weather forecast of ~80 degrees. They were planning on an ocean swim (the water is cold this time of year). Life is good.
best wishes - Real Estate Broker · Cleveland Dayton Cincinnati Toledo Columbus & Akron, OH · Member since 2013 · 30k+ posts · 20k+ votes8mo
Quote from @Dan H.:
Want me to stop providing facts that do not support your narrative? 😂Quote from @James Wise:
Quote from @Dan H.:
You explicitly indicate San Diego in your title. Have you looked up the delinquency rate in San Diego? Have you looked up the eviction rate in San Diego? Have you looked up the average rents in San Diego? Do you know what the state rent control max increase is?
San Diego has one of the lowest eviction rates in the country. Duh! It is hard to evict, but is that the full story? The delinquency rate is one of the lowest in the country. This indicates that there is something else besides the difficult in evicting in the low eviction rate as paying tenants seldom get evicted.
So what is it? It is an extreme housing shortage. I have a class c, 4/2 for rent currently in a class c- location. My tenant qualifications in this class c- location (I have higher qualifications in my higher class areas) is 3x rent, 650 minimum tenant score for all adults, strong LL reference with clear indication that paying on time is not by itself a strong LL reference, no evictions ever, no bankruptcies ever. I had 5 applicants and one has met all criteria (collecting holding deposit tomorrow). Note this was for a late December move out (near hardest time to place new tenants).
in 50 years of family having rental units (at far lower counts than James - not even in same galaxy as James so I greatly value his experience and insight in his markets) I have yet to evict a tenant and have yet to not collect a full month of rent.
Now for the state rent control increase, it is local CPI + 5% capped at 10%. Since it went into effect the 10% has been the limit all years except twice. Lowest max rent increase since it went into effect in San Diego is 8.6%. This does not mean I like rent control, I do not. But 8.6% to 10% increase (with almost all years being 10%) is not the primary reason I do not like rent control. Do the Ohio markets ever have market rent growth of 10%? Judging by their current market rents it would be very rare.
As for the average rent, remember nothing correlates to achieved cash flow over a long period of hold better than rent growth. High rents are achieved by high rent growth. The implication is San Diego has historically produced outstanding cash flow over long holds if no value is extracted from the property (in practice few RE educated investors would take the approach and leave large equity in their properties, leverage is RE investors Rock of Gibraltar).
Average apartment rent, source rent cafe. In general, SFH Rent for more than apartments.
2026
Average Rent Average Apartment Size All Rentals $2,938 876 sq. ft. Studio $2,194 505 sq. ft. 1 Bed $2,628 707 sq. ft. 2 Beds $3,202 1,032 sq. ft. 3 Beds $3,925 1,301 sq. ft.
As indicated, James is very knowledgeable in his markets. He is not very knowledgeable about San Diego RE markets judging by this post.
I believe newbies should start local. This post is not suggesting a newbie OOS RE investor should choose San Diego RE to invest (it can be very rewarding but it has challenges like all RE markets).Best wishes
I understand that you may be trying to market to potential San Diego invests but you would be better served by
1) extolling the merits of your market
2) researching the facts and not attempt to mislead. I suspect you know that in virtually every year the state rent control has capped rents at 10% but conveniently excluded this info.
san diego RE has historically produced outstanding appreciation, rent growth, cash flow for long holds, has outstanding tenants as reflected by their delinquency and eviction rates, near fixed property tax, and has outstanding weather. What else can an RE investor want? The weather at my house is forecast at low 80s. The weather forecast at San Diego official location is forecast as high 70s (it is a few hundred yards from the bay).
note this is San Diego’s off season. Here is my STR calendars for the offseason:
note some/many of these vacancies will still book, so this calendar reflects a vacancy rate higher than reality, and this is the offseason.
the owner’s block on 2 units was for my son’s girlfriend’s birthday. They and their friends get to stay at two beach units with weather forecast of ~80 degrees. They were planning on an ocean swim (the water is cold this time of year). Life is good.
best wishes
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