Rent On The Rise In Calif.
SHERMAN OAKS (CBSLA.com) — Rental prices are on the rise in California.
Bill and Gigi Webb have a tall order in their search for a rental in Valley. They're looking for a townhouse, in certain neighborhoods and for less than $2,000 a month.
"Even trying to get these people to call back is difficult. They only have one or two. There's not a plethora of places out there right now," said Bill.
Jordan Keeble, an apartment hunter at Westside Rentals in Sherman Oaks, said most everyone has ended up frustrated lately.
"They wanted a one-bedroom, but for $800. Even in some of those places, it's just not realistic anymore. You're lucky if you can get a studio for $800…anywhere," she said.
KCAL9's Chase Cain reported that rent has increased by as much as 5 percent over last year in Southern California and by nearly 10 percent in Northern California.
Realtor Richard Shulman said people should expect rent to get even more expensive over the next two years.
"Right now rental prices are still below where they peaked at in 2008, so I think rental prices have a lot of room to climb from where they are now," he said.
Shulman added, "When you pay more for a property…the rental property we're sitting in right now has gone up 50 percent in the last 18 months, probably. That means the buyer of this property will want to charge a higher rent to offset his additional cost."
Meantime, the latest report from real estate website Trulia showed the high prices extend to the market for homebuyers, as well, with three California cities ranking in the four most overvalued markets in the country.
Homes were overvalued by 12 percent in Orange County, 10 percent in Los Angeles and 7 percent in Oakland and the Bay Area.
