According to a report by the market analysis site Apartment List, the COVID-19 pandemic will NOT leave America’s cities empty despite a feared urban exodus. A new study that looks at search behavior on the Apartment list site found that from January 1 to March 15, 2021, searches gravitated toward densely populated cities not away from them. The study suggests that ” for every renter who left, there appear to be many ready to take their spot.”
The news may offer some consolation for San Francisco apartment owners who saw a drop in rental prices of an unprecedented 27% since the start of pandemic lockdowns in March of 2020. The average cost of an apartment in Santa Rosa only decreased by only 2.1% during the same time period.
The study, released on Tuesday, claims that many city dwellers did relocate for less populated areas, like Sonoma County, at the beginning of the pandemic. However, those vacancies were only temporary as recent search results reveal increased interest in moving back.
According to Apartment List, the largest number of people looking to move back are from San Jose (17.7%), Los Angeles (7.1%) and Sacramento (5.8%). Only 2.3 % percent of Santa Rosa renters are considering the move to “The City,” while 1.9% of San Francisco renters are considering the move to Santa Rosa.
The median rent in S.F. is currently $2,305 for a two-bedroom, which will get you a pretty swanky pad in the Redwood Empire. Curious to see what the San Francisco average will rent you in Sonoma County? Click through our gallery above.
