Apartment Rents, Unit Prices Escalating in San Diego County

Escalating apartment rental rates in San Diego County--unfettered by rent control--are pushing up the the average sales price per square foot and average price per unit by as much at $10 and $10,000, respectively, according to a study by Grubb & Ellis Commercial Brokerage Services.

The annual study of 20 key geographic areas in the county shows that the average rent per square foot ranged from lows of 57 cents in Imperial Beach and San Ysidro to as much as 90 cents in La Jolla.

According to Jon Busse of Grubb & Ellis, areas that experienced major rent increases--of up to $10 a square foot--included East San Diego, Spring Valley and Lemon Grove, Point Loma and Ocean Beach, Clairemont and North Park and Hillcrest.

Areas that experienced $10,000 per unit price increases during 1985 included Point Loma and Ocean Beach, with average prices per unit of $56,698, Clairemont ($60,189), Chula Vista ($49,401) and North Park and Hillcrest ($47,070).

“The highest average price per unit last year was $72,476 which typifies the beach cities of Del Mar, Solana Beach and Encinitas,” Busses said. “The lowest average price per unit is the $40,000 found in southeast San Diego and National City.”