by Mary Pope-Handy | Aug 19, 2021 | FAQs, Rental homes
Moving to the San Jose or San Francisco Bay Area? You may be wondering what does it cost to rent a 1 bedroom apartment in Silicon Valley? (You can find a list of rental housing resources on this site here.)
The range in rental prices varies with location, condition, and amenities – exclusive or covered parking, air conditioning, dishwashers, a small yard for downstairs units, and pools are not all automatic.
- In general, it is very difficult to find a decent 1 bedroom for under $2,000 per month (but possibly as low as $1800).
- An average 1 bedroom is likely to run $2300- $2600 in most areas.
- It’s not hard to find one at $3,000 per month, especially in nicer and more in-demand areas such as Mountain View, Sunnyvale, Cupertino, Saratoga, and Los Gatos.
- If you move to one of the expensive areas and get to enjoy extra perks, you may be spending $3000, $3500 or more per month.
If you are working on a smaller budget, you’ll find a few studio apartments available and they will of course be more affordable. Apartments lacking air conditioning, pools, or other highly sought after amenities will also be offered for a bit less. Another option is to look a little further out and consider units without AC, pools, etc.
Apartment homes with a yard are renting for about 15% more than those with no outside space, from what I have seen.
Recently I saw a studio in West San Jose (fairly expensive area) for about $2100. The complex does have a pool, but the units don’t have air conditioning of any kind. I also viewed a 1 bedroom in Campbell for about the same price but it included a wall AC unit. It’s very similar to purchases in that if you get closer in, you get less home for your money.
A couple of things to beware of when looking for rental housing
Something to be aware of is that some houses have Accessory Dwelling Units that seem inexpensive, and often it’s because something is missing, whether it’s a decent amount of square footage, a kitchen will a full sized oven and stove, etc. Not long ago I saw such a place but the kitchen was really just a wet bar with a microwave and toaster oven. The old adage is accurate: if it sounds too good to be true, it is too good to be true. (more…)
by Mary Pope-Handy | Nov 3, 2020 | Rental homes
San Jose apartment rental prices have softened during the coronavirus pandemic. Each month, ApartmentList.com produces a national and local report on rental market trends, including prices. If you are interested in renting an apartment, it’s a good idea to bookmark this page so you can circle back to it every few weeks. Apartment List National Rent Report
Here are some of this month’s highlights:
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Rents in San Jose decreased by 2.9% month-over-month, and are down 12.2% since the start of the pandemic in March, the #5 biggest decline among the nation’s 50 largest cities.
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Year-over-year rent growth in San Jose currently stands at -11.1%, the lowest rate in October of any year since the start of our estimates.
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Median rents in San Jose currently stand at $1,777 for a 1-bedroom apartment and $2,111 for a two-bedroom.
How are the San Jose apartment rental prices as compared to other areas in the U.S.?
Here’s their graphic, but visit the link above to see the whole report.
by Mary Pope-Handy | Feb 14, 2019 | Rental homes
Looking to get a sense of the rental prices in Silicon Valley? Today I’ll show you how to find the median rental price by zip code for homes in Silicon Valley by using my weekly Altos Research real estate market reports for Silicon Valley.
We will use Cupertino’s housing market as an example, because many high tech employees plan to work in that city. My Altos Research report for Cupertino. You can access it at this link Mary Pope-Handy’s Cupertino Market Report. When you click through, it will look something like this:
There are tabs for houses and condos, and you can toggle as desired.
On the right, you will see the market profile. Below, view one for the single family homes and one for condos. I have outlined where the median rental value shows so that you can locate it fast.
Not really wanting to live in Cupertino? Find the “Search Anywhere” field near the top and enter a city name or a zip code and you can spot check areas of interest.
Subscribe for the weekly reports
Please click the “Subscribe” button in the upper right corner to get any of the reports emailed to you weekly.
Not a rental Realtor
NB: I do not work in the rental market as 99.99% of rental homes are “for rent by owner” and there’s not a place for a Realtor in that structure. When folks first move to Silicon Valley, though, they usually want to rent for awhile, so I will sometimes provide rental info because I know it’s needed. Interested in buying or selling? Please do reach out to me! Best to start with email so that a phone call can be scheduled: mary@popehandy.com as I get a lot of spam / robo calls. However, feel free to call first if you prefer – 408-204-7673.
Related reading:
Silicon Valley neighborhoods
San Jose Districts and their Values (Feb 2018)
Facts about San Jose, the Capital of Silicon Valley
by Mary Pope-Handy | Aug 30, 2018 | Rental homes
Whether you’re a long-term renter, temporary renter looking for a furnished rental, or a landlord, you’re probably wondering how the Silicon Valley’s apartment rental market is today and where it’s heading. Most real estate agents in this area do not deal with rentals, so rental housing is not typically something we track super closely. That being said, the same things that affect the residential resale market frequently effect the apartment rental market as well. So, without the help from my usual sources, such as the MLS (Multiple Listing Services), let’s look at what people are saying about the current trends.
Silicon Valley’s cooling apartment rental market
There are a few good sources for rental home information. One of them is RentCafe, which provides info on many cities and towns in Santa Clara County. The RentCafe page on Mountain View, for instance, provided the average apartment rental for all apartments, for studios, 1 bedrooms, 2 bedrooms, and 3 bedrooms. The overall averages seem to be somewhere between the 1 and 2 bedroom price points. It also shared today’s softened prices relative to last year’s. (I find this curious since buying a home is now more expensive than a year ago.)
RentCafe has similar info for a few cities nearby. You can find Santa Clara here, but change the last part of the URL to get a different city:
https://www.rentcafe.com/average-rent-market-trends/us/ca/santa-clara-county/santa-clara/
Sunnyvale
San Jose
Campbell
Another excellent source of information is Apartment List.
Apartment List does not analyze every city and town, nor do they study the difference between neighborhoods, such as comparing South San Jose with Willow Glen, but where they do give insight helps to show the major trends happening around the bay area. Check out Apartment List for more detailed analysis, and the most up-to-date information on the market. Also check out their Rentonomics page with more articles on renting.
https://www.apartmentlist.com/ca/san-jose#guide
https://www.apartmentlist.com/ca/sunnyvale#guide
https://www.apartmentlist.com/ca/santa-clara#guide
https://www.apartmentlist.com/ca/campbell#guide
https://www.apartmentlist.com/ca/mountain-view#guide
https://www.apartmentlist.com/rentonomics/national-rent-data
https://www.apartmentlist.com/rentonomics/
Is there a solution to the lack of low-cost apartment rentals?
Analysts all believe there will be some market turnaround in the not too far future, but there are a few answers to where it may come from. CNBC published an article on the housing shortage dealing with high tech companies. Large industry leaders such as Google, Facebook, and Twitter continue to hire, bringing people into the area more quickly than developers are building, and forcing up the prices in both housing and rental markets. Employees have asked these companies to help, and some are responding. Google and Facebook have both come up with plans to construct affordable housing.
https://www.cnbc.com/2017/06/14/google-spending-30-million-on-housing-for-silicon-valley-employees.html
For years, California law has stated that a certain amount of affordable housing must be available in each community. Unfortunately, many communities are ignoring both the law and the need for such developments. If every community were to develop what the law required, the market would be much more balanced. Yet again, it’s the investors that are controlling the development, and it will not likely happen soon.
by Mary Pope-Handy | Dec 12, 2017 | Almaden Valley, Buying Tips, Cambrian, Cupertino, Los Gatos, Monte Sereno, Palo Alto, Real Estate, Rental homes, Santa Clara, Saratoga, Schools, Sunnyvale
Edit: I originally wrote this post on August 12, 2013, but it is still accurate today, January 25, 2018, and probably will be for years to come.
This morning I received an email from folks wanting to find a good area in which to move where they’ll have good schools but not pay the kind of prices they see in Palo Alto. Below is my response to them. I focus on Santa Clara County, and in particular the west valley areas from Los Altos to Almaden Valley or Blossom Valley areas of Willow Glen to Downtown San Jose, Santa Clara, Campbell, and back toward Los Gatos and its nearest parts. Below is my response – hope it is helpful to many of my readers! (The list is not exhaustive.)
The easiest way to check school scores is to use the site
www.SchoolAndHousing.com. It’s good for showing what house has which schools. The home search feature is not very good, though, so don’t use that. Best for home searching is
www.MLSListings.com, as it is the public branch of our agent MLS and it is updated continuously. Something to consider, though, is that the
school scores do not tell the entire story. There are many factors to include in your evaluation of a school, such as the variety of coursework offered (some schools may not have art or music, for instance), the availability of sports (for a balanced upbringing) and the overall feeling of a school (are the kids happy or are they overly pressured into excellence at a very young age?). For many of these things, the best approach is to
visit the schools personally and request a tour. See if you can chat with the parents who are waiting to pick their kids up after school to hear about their experiences. And of course read reviews online.
In terms of general areas to consider for schools near Mountain View, Palo Alto or Sunnyvale, in general, the better the schools, the more expensive the housing (whether to buy or to rent). Hence Palo Alto is extremely pricey because the schools are absolutely top. Here are some communities that have great schools or good to very good schools:
- Palo Alto (very costly)
- Cupertino (less expensive for the school scores compared to other areas up to #5 on this list)
- Saratoga (very expensive)
- Los Altos & Los Altos Hills
- Los Gatos & Monte Sereno (95030 & 95032)
- Parts of San Jose in Cambrian 95124 and Almaden 95120 (very good value)
- The Los Gatos Mountains (zip code 95033)
- Parts of Fremont (Mission San Jose area)
Also it should be noted that in many cases, it makes more economic sense to utilize private schools and to live in an area which is a little less costly, such as Santa Clara (part of SC has Cupertino schools, so that will be expensive) or parts of San Jose (part of west San Jose 95129 has Cupertino schools, and part does not). Many of my global clients initially do not see private schools as an option, for fear that all the kids in them will be from wealthy families and spoiled. But often that is not the case at all – the kids are from families who like the curriculum, the teachers, the overall approach of the school and literally make sacrifices to send their kids there. So I would advise that you at least have a look at that option since homes in the areas with the very best schools can be extremely costly.
by Mary Pope-Handy | Sep 22, 2017 | Buying Tips, For Sale, Market trends & statistics, Real Estate, Rental homes
Flashback Friday!
As I was going through old blog posts, I found this brief installment from April 17th, 2014. Often I write that the current hot sellers market in the Bay is “prolonged,” “steady,” or “persistent,” but seeing these two headlines from over 3 years ago really shows just how unyielding it has been. It is highly unusual to be in such a strong, drawn-out market, but there’s no clear indicator that things will change anytime soon, either. Buyers and renters might find some relief now that autumn is here in hopes that it brings the usual seasonal cooling.
Find the original post immediately below. – Update October 22nd, 2017
Here are the headlines from the San Jose Mercury News in mid April 2014:
Rental article: Bay Area apartment rents set record 4/16/14
Excerpt: Bay Area apartment rents are rising at nearly double-digit annual rates and have reached record levels, according to a report released Tuesday, prompting some analysts to warn that the region’s economic boom could be choked off by the relentless rise….. Among the Bay Area’s three largest cities, San Jose had an average asking rent of $2,066 during this year’s January-March quarter, up 10.3 percent from the same period last year, RealFacts reported. Oakland had an average rental rate of $2,187, up 12.3 percent, while San Francisco posted an average of $3,057, up 9.5 percent.
Home buying article: Bay Area home prices jump year over year
Excerpt: March marked more than 20 consecutive months of year-over-year price gains for single-family homes in the East Bay, South Bay and Peninsula, according to real estate information service DataQuick, which released a report on March sales Wednesday…. The San Diego-based company said that prices were up 29.2 percent from the previous March in Alameda County to $575,000. In Contra Costa County, prices rose 22.8 percent to $425,000. Santa Clara County gained 20.3 percent to $800,000, and San Mateo County was up 13.2 percent to $860,000.
Whether you buy or rent, prices have been rising dramatically. When factoring in what housing will cost, include the trajectory of appreciation per month.
