Vacancy Rate Continues Decline
Daryl Strickland covers real estate for The Times. He can be reached at (714) 966-5670 and at daryl.strickland@latimes.com
Finding an apartment in Orange County isn’t getting any easier. A new report by Marcus & Millichap, a brokerage in Newport Beach, predicts that that vacancy rate will be slightly below the minuscule 2.9% rate last year.
Average apartment rents rose 8% last year to $1,050, according to the report. And landlords, with waiting lists in hand, figure to demand higher rents this year.
As a result, more people with jobs in Orange County are being forced to commute from Corona, and other parts of the Inland Empire where prices are more affordable, turning those areas increasingly into commuter suburbs for Orange County.
