Marin rents post another double-digit surge as market pressure continues
By Janis Mara
The average asking rent in Marin was $2,583 in the third quarter of this year, compared with $2,329 in the third quarter of 2014, according to Novato-based data service Real Answers.
The average asking rent in Marin was $2,583 in the third quarter of this year, compared with $2,329 in the third quarter of 2014, according to Novato-based data service Real Answers.
“One of the big question marks is how much longer can it go on until there is some change in the marketplace,” said Rob Eyler, chief economist for the Marin Economic Forum and a professor of economics at Sonoma State. “We’re probably looking at at least another two years of these kinds of rents.”
This is because demand will continue to grow, Eyler said, while supply will not.
“Short of building more (rental stock), there’s not a lot that’s going to change,” the professor said. “Without more housing, there’s not a lot to talk about.”
Eyler suggested that people might start doubling up, with two families living in a two-bedroom home, as a way of coping with the sky-high rents.
“If the rent is $4,000 and I’m sharing, then I’m only paying $2,000. We might see a spike in the number of households per housing unit,” Eyler said. “There could be a relatively quick rise in the population locally if there are more people living in the same house.”
Returning to an oft-mentioned theme, Eyler said, “It’s starting in San Francisco and mushrooming out into the areas that use San Francisco as a place for business.”
Read Marin IJ article
