Can’t find an apartment in L.A.? That’s because fewer are being built
- Share via
Drive around Riverside County and signs for new apartment complexes are all over the 60, 15 and 215 freeways.
Major new constructions in Beaumont and Riverside have led Riverside County to boast the third biggest year-to-year growth in apartment completions in the nation at 154.1%, according to apartment search website Rentcafe.com.
Contrast that with the city of Los Angeles, where building apartments has become too costly, and potential profits are unstable. That’s what my colleague Roger Vincent documented last week.
If your search for a new place in L.A. has seemed overly difficult, here’s why.
What’s happening with new apartment builds?
The supply of fresh rental units, which make up the bulk of new housing in Los Angeles, is petering out despite robust demand. The vacancy rate is among the lowest in the country, while rental rates are among the highest.
Still, the number of new units under construction in Los Angeles has been falling each quarter since early last year and is set to dive to a 10-year low, according to real estate data provider CoStar.
Fewer than 19,000 apartments were under construction in the three months through September. That’s 30% fewer than three years earlier, according to CoStar’s count.
Less profits equals less building
Ari Kahan, a principal of California Landmark Group. used to have multiple projects with as many as 800 total units being built in Los Angeles at any given time. No more, he said.
“We haven’t bought a site with the intention to develop it in over two years,” he said. “I don’t know when we will be building in L.A. next.”
Developers say they can’t raise the money to build because many of their biggest backers — pension funds, insurance companies and other institutions looking for long-term investments — don’t want to park their money in L.A. because the rapidly changing rules make it impossible to predict profits.
“L.A. has been redlined by the majority of the investment community,” said Kahan.
Federal policy adds to the headache
Higher tariffs have sparked rising prices in construction materials and equipment, while the crackdown on undocumented workers has thinned and spooked much of the international workforce the industry depends on.
“Prices rose at an especially rapid pace in some of the categories most affected by tariffs,” including iron and steel prices, which have risen 9% in the last year, and copper wire and cable prices, which have jumped 14%, said Anirban Basu, chief economist of trade group Associated Builders and Contractors.
California’s construction industry depends on immigrant workers. Around 61% of construction workers in the state are immigrants. Of that group, 26% of those are undocumented, according to a June report from the Bay Area Council Economic Institute.
What do the numbers say?
Housing production in Los Angeles County has slowed dramatically over the decades, dropping from more than 70,000 new units annually in the 1950s to roughly 30,000 in the 1970s and 1980s to fewer than 15,000 in the 2010s.
This long-term slowdown in housing construction has left the region with an older, more strained housing stock and a deep shortfall in affordable options.
That’s according to findings from a new USC project that collects housing data on Los Angeles County neighborhoods.
Solutions can be found…outside of L.A.
The cost of building new apartments in Los Angeles is also hard on renters.
At the current construction price, developers need to charge between $4,000 and $5,000 per month in rent, depending on the apartment size, making affordability an issue. Rentcafe suggests a renter will need to make about $13,400 in gross monthly income to afford $4,000 in monthly rent.
Developers predict people will have to move farther out and commute times will grow.
For more, check out the full article here.
The week’s biggest stories
Crime, courts and policing
- Rapper and music mogul Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs was sentenced to more than 4 years in prison for using prostitutes in infamous “freak-offs.”
- L.A. City Hall was evacuated after vehicle crashed near steps. The driver is in custody following a standoff.
- Former USC quarterback and Fox Sports analyst Mark Sanchez was stabbed in Indianapolis and hospitalized.
- L.A. County supervisors are demanding an investigation into claims that plaintiffs were paid to sue L.A. County.
- Youths attack a Black teen in Simi Valley parking lot while shouting racial slurs, authorities said.
Trump policies and reactions
- President Trump slashed $8 billion for energy projects in blue states. In California, that could be felt in red areas that voted for him as well.
- Gov. Newsom chides USC to “do the right thing” for academic freedom and resist Trump conservative compact.
- Militant group Hamas agrees to return Israeli hostages but resists other parts of Trump’s peace plan.
- How many people are actually undocumented in the U.S.?
Entertainment news
- The Writers Guild helped bring Jimmy Kimmel’s late night show back. Here’s what its new president plans next.
- Before artist Taylor Swift rolled out “Father Figure,” George Michael’s estate gave her props.
- Artist Taylor Swift apparently has a lot to brag about with fiancé Travis Kelce (especially in bed) on her latest album.
- Admired climber dies in fall from Yosemite’s El Capitan, reportedly while livestreaming.
- Future Ruins, Nine Inch Nails’ film-music festival, is canceled.
More big stories
- California’s home insurer of last resort to millions seeks a 36% rate hike following January fires.
- After a hail of abuse, golfer Rory McIlroy faces an onslaught of Ryder Cup-related apologies from Americans.
- Finally playing center, UCLA men’s basketball player Xavier Booker wants to be more than an “X” factor.
- Chargers are struggling to protect star quarterback Justin Herbert because of injuries. Can the issue be resolved?
- Why are buyers returning to Tesla?
This week’s must-reads
The glaciers of California’s Sierra Nevada are disappearing as temperatures rise. Scientists recently found that the glaciers probably have never before melted in human history.
More great reads
- She went to get her green card and now faces deportation. Did the feds trick her?
- A dog disappeared from his California home. He was found 2,000 miles away.
- Opinion: He might be the first one to rebuild a house in Altadena, and he credits his golden retriever.
- Opinion: Anyone calling Bad Bunny un-American needs a geography lesson.
- Opinion: I’m an intersex professor. Am I supposed to lie by teaching ‘only male and female’?
For your weekend
Going out
- Sunday Funday: Musician and former child actor Jenny Lewis includes a trip to the Pasadena City College flea market in her ideal Sunday.
- Find your Halloween pumpkin: Somewhere in these 21 SoCal pumpkin patches, your perfect jack-o’-lantern awaits.
- Flicks you can’t miss: The 10 best movies to see in L.A. this month.
- Movie review: Dwayne Johnson’s MMA biopic “The Smashing Machine” is a nostalgia headache.
Staying in
- Music review: If you like these tracks from “The Life of a Showgirl,” try these Taylor Swift songs next.
- A Television classic renewed: “Maigret” on PBS is the latest version of Simenon’s sleuth. Here are 6 more to watch.
- 🧑🍳 Here’s a recipe for golden buttermilk biscuits.
- ✏️ Get our free daily crossword puzzle, sudoku, word search and arcade games.
L.A. Affairs
Get wrapped up in tantalizing stories about dating, relationships and marriage.
He looked 20 years older than he did four years ago. In my head, I thought, ‘This makes sense. The ugliness within him has deteriorated his physical body.’
Have a great weekend, from the Essential California team
Jim Rainey, staff writer
Andrew J. Campa, reporter
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters
Diamy Wang, homepage intern
Izzy Nunes, audience intern
How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@latimes.com. Check our top stories, topics and the latest articles on latimes.com.
More From the Los Angeles Times
Podcasts
Why is California’s wildfire strategy wrong for SoCal? After massive blazes, the state changed its approach, but it only works for the north. Listen to find out what officials are doing wrong — and the surprising strategy they’re turning to next.
In 1990, UCLA student Ronald Baker was murdered in a railway tunnel. While his occult interests fueled “Satanic Panic” rumors, police found his killers knew him well — one had even carried his casket.
LA’s smog wasn’t from factories. A scientist studying pineapples found the real cause: cars. But no one wanted to believe him. Hear the full story on “Smoglandia.” Listen now.
