Posted Thursday, Oct. 11, 2007; 1:13 a.m.

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Monthly rent for the same apartment in 2005 jumped 5.6 percent, to average $1,470 county-wide in 2006, according to the Casden Real Estate Economics Forecast’s 2007 report on Southern California multifamily markets.

With every area in the county experiencing rising rent costs, renters who are relocating find it difficult to secure an affordable apartment, the report shows. Even cities with historically lower rents are experiencing high increases – such as Long Beach, where the average rent rose nine percent last year, the report found.

Some renters are moving out of cities like Long Beach, said Patrick Kennedy, a housing advocate.

“It’s harder and harder to stay here,” Kennedy, the executive director of the Greater Long Beach Interface Community Organization, said.

He said families are moving northward along the 710 freeway corridor or into the Inland Empire. The Casden Forecast reports that average monthly rents for East Los Angeles and the San Gabriel Valley area in 2006 were $1,158 and $1,210 respectively.

In addition to rising costs seen in the overall housing market, renters in Los Angeles County face a unique problem: there are not enough places to rent.

Average apartment vacancy rates in the county have dipped below 3 percent, according to the Casden report. For displaced renters seeking an apartment, that means they will find less than three open units for every 100 apartments. In some communities, like Hollywood, the rate is even lower. For every 100 apartments there, fewer than two are available.

When tenants are forced to move out for an incoming condominium project, advocates say those that can’t find an apartment of their own end up crowding with others or living on the streets.

“They’re living, like, two families in a rented bedroom, in another family’s home,” Kroll said. “They’re living in garages. They’re living in cars.”

Without a heavy increase in new apartment construction or cities’ commitments to building affordable housing, rents and occupancy rates are expected to continue rising.

Dolores Conway, lead author of the Caden Forecast, expects rent increases for the county next year to be between 4.5 and 5.5 percent, placing the average rent for the county between $1,536 and $1,550.

For many in Los Angeles County, high rents are just something they have learned to accept.

“This is America for me,” Bequera said, putting away her unsent letter. 

Copyright 2007, The L.A. Pilot
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