After a month and a half of lockdown, reports are just starting to trickle in that analyze COVID-19’s impact on the rental market. In Sonoma County, where rents average around $1,942 for a one-bedroom apartment, any news of a reduction in price or increase in availability would be welcome by all potential renters, but rental market analysts are hesitant to make predictions.
The website RentCafe.com studied search trends early on in the pandemic and determined (predictably) that with stay-at-home orders in place, rental searches were down. During the week of March 11 to 17, inquiries for new listings went down 25% from the week prior. Google searches for “apartments near me” took a nosedive, while investigations into “home disinfection,” “home office setups” and “home workouts” skyrocketed.
The website TurboTennant took a different approach, analyzing the total number of new listings for 18 major rental markets in the United States. Regretfully, skipping the Bay Area, their results varied greatly by city. While some markets like San Diego, Atlanta, and Cleveland all experienced net gains in listings, other cities like New York, Denver, and Houston experienced dramatic declines. New York saw the largest decrease in new listings dropping by 65.17% during the month of March.
According to TurboTennant, in a pre-coronavirus world, the number of new listings would typically see large increases in early April as we enter the peak rental season. All things considered, renters seem to be taking shelter-in-place orders seriously as they hang tight in their current situation.
For those of you who may be in dire need, click through our gallery above to see seven apartments currently listed on Zillow for $1,500 or less.
