When Rent’s Due, Beach Means Bucks
To find the most expensive apartments in the county, head for the beach.
No, not Newport Beach. Seal Beach.
Apartments in that small community on the county’s western edge rent for an average of $1,172 monthly, according to data compiled by the Research Network Ltd. Newport Beach is second with a monthly average of $986; Laguna Beach is third at $956.
If you’re looking for bargain rentals, head inland. La Habra has the cheapest average rent, $598; followed by Los Alamitos, $612, and Fullerton, $657.
According to the survey, Anaheim has the most apartments of any county community, 28,897, or 16.4% of the county total of 176,770 at the end of 1988. Anaheim also leads in apartments under construction, 779, but much smaller cities round out the top five.
There were 5,574 apartments under construction countywide at the end of the year.
APARTMENTS BY COMMUNITY
% Change % 1989 % Change Average From Year Average From Year City Rent Ago* Occupancy Ago Anaheim $671 -0.6 95.3 -2.1 Brea 680 -2.9 98.8 0.2 Buena Park 667 -2.3 97.1 -1.5 Costa Mesa 786 -5.2 97.3 -0.3 Cypress 696 -1.0 97.9 -1.4 Dana Point 844 -9.3 97.5 -1.0 El Toro 775 -2.8 98.1 1.4 Fountain Valley 730 -1.7 97.1 -1.1 Fullerton 657 0.0 97.5 -0.7 Garden Grove 707 -0.2 97.4 0.1 Huntington Beach 776 -1.5 96.4 -0.7 Irvine 884 18.5 95.4 -1.2 La Habra 598 -1.7 96.9 0.3 La Palma 734 -0.4 95.8 -2.7 Laguna Beach 956 -5.8 97.8 -2.2 Laguna Hills 843 -5.3 95.5 -3.9 Laguna Niguel 816 -3.7 94.1 7.4 Los Alamitos 612 -5.1 95.0 -2.8 Mission Viejo 752 -3.8 94.2 -0.2 Newport Beach 986 5.5 96.8 1.2 Orange 699 -1.3 97.5 0.2 Placentia 764 0.7 97.2 20.2 Rancho S. Margarita 759 1.2 97.0 1.3 San Clemente 755 4.4 64.3 -30.7 San Juan Capistrano 811 -6.2 97.8 0.4 Santa Ana 738 -0.3 97.2 -0.5 Seal Beach 1,172 30.9 94.3 0.6 Stanton 666 2.5 95.3 -1.8 Tustin 667 -0.9 97.2 -0.7 Westminster 701 -3.2 96.0 2.5 Yorba Linda 873 -2.7 97.8 8.8
* Adjusted for inflation
Source: The Research Network Ltd. EXISTING APARTMENT UNITS (in thousands) ANAHEIM: 28,897 SANTA ANA: 19,210 HUNTINGTON BEACH: 16,198 COSTA MESA: 13,492 FULLERTON: 10,964 UNITS UNDER CONSTRUCTION ANAHEIM: 779 TUSTIN: 518 IRVINE: 403 PLACENTIA: 311 YORBA LINDA: 296
