In the greater San Francisco and San Jose markets, average rental prices increased by 10.4 and 12.2 percent, respectively, making the two areas the markets with the greatest rent appreciation in the country, according to a report by RealFacts, a company that analyzes rental data. The S.F. region includes parts of the East Bay, and San Jose includes other parts of Santa Clara County.

Click on the photo at right to see how rents have increased in the Bay Area.

Over the past four years, according to the survey, rental prices have climbed 13.7 percent in San Francisco, while occupancy rose only 1.3 percent. The City’s high apartment occupancy rate is one of the factors contributing to its rising prices, real estate experts agree.

“We’ve reached a point where there’s nothing out there,” said Craig Berendt, a broker with Berendt Properties. “People are knocking down my door to get an apartment.”

Renters now have to compete for apartments, sometimes creating a bidding war. Vacancies are filled quickly, and for above-average prices. Berendt recently rented a client an 800-square-foot Hayes Valley apartment with an outdated 1950s kitchen and without parking for $2,100 a month. About a year ago he would have been lucky to get $1,700, he said.

The tech industry, which is credited with contributing to the boom in both residential and commercial real estate, has created a renter profile of young, well-paid professionals who can afford the cream of the crop.

“Current renters moving in are pickier about what they want,” said Janan New, executive director of San Francisco Apartment Association. “They are willing to pay high rents, but don’t want to compromise on amenities.”

She said that means landlords have to deliver — by installing granite countertops, track lighting and other new features that also can drive up asking rates. The trend has made San Francisco a city that is increasingly unaffordable to middle-class residents, both New and Berendt said.

“I see our middle class really starting to dissipate,” Berendt said. “Obviously we don’t want that. We want a well-balanced class system, but the rents are just going through the roof.”

RealFacts’ report analyzes detailed data for 47 market survey areas in the country, including Los Angeles, Dallas, Denver and Tampa. Although the report omitted detailed information on major metropolises such as New York City and Washington, D.C., RealFacts spokeswoman Linda Burke said the company’s data on those cities supports its findings about San Francisco and San Jose.

sgantz@sfexaminer.com

Article source: http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/2012/01/bay-area-leads-nation-rental-price-increases

With tech workers flocking to the Bay Area again and the homeownership market still sluggish, local demand for rental housing is spiking and prices are on the rise, according to new data gathered by Novato-based RealFacts.

The combination of factors is driving people to choose — and then beg — to rent. The occupancy rate in The City rose 6 percent between 2010 and 2011 — meaning there are fewer apartments available on the market — and the average cost of all rentals went up from $2,214 to $2,422, according to RealFacts data.

Sarah Bridge, owner of RealFacts, theorized that members of Generation Y just don’t want to be tied down in the real estate market, especially not in the suburbs.

“That demographic is moving more toward rentals in a tight-knit, walkable community,” Bridge said.

The new data matches what countless apartment hunters already know. Even if you have the credit score report and boilerplate rental application in hand to try to beat out the competition — and especially if you’ve already given the 30-day notice on your current place — life is not getting easier for The City’s potential tenants.

That clock is ticking for 29-year-old nonprofit employee Allyse Heartwell and her tech worker boyfriend. After the couple suspected they had been outbid by other tenants on a place they really liked, they decided they would fight back at some open houses on Wednesday.

“If we like the place, we are going to bid $100 up,” Heartwell said, adding that she tried to bid $50 over the asking price on a previous place, but to no avail. “It’s like they should start putting these places on eBay.”

Because the couple’s options are narrowed by the fact they have a dog and are interested only in certain neighborhoods, they see some of the same people at the open houses.

“We definitely smile at each other, but we don’t really chat with them,” she said.  “You just go for 15 minutes, then you have to leave to get to the next one.”

Abigail Glynn, a broker with Davis Realty Co., said she’s noticed a resurgence in The City’s rental market. She said the demand is no surprise, considering increased hiring at tech companies that are now better established than they were during the dot-com bubble a decade ago.

“I’m getting Google people and they’re making money,” Glynn said. “We’re getting the second wave of dot-com kids.”

dschreiber@sfexaminer.com

Rents on the rise

Average San Francisco rental
Second quarter 2010: $2,214
Second quarter 2011: $2,422

Average rent cost per unit type
Loft: $2,100
Studio: $1,821
One bedroom: $2,229
Two bedroom, one bath: $2,394
Two bedroom, two bath: $3,272
Three bedroom, two bath: $2,975
Three bedroom, three bath: $3,609

Source: RealFacts

Article source: http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/2011/08/new-wave-tech-workers-san-francisco-becomes-landlord-s-market

Compared to second-quarter data from 2010, rents rose 8.6 percent in San Francisco and 9.3 percent in San Mateo County, for monthly averages of $2,400 and $1,800 respectively.

The trend can be pegged to a dwindling rental supply and increasing demand from new workers with high-paying jobs, according to RealFacts owner Sarah Bridge.

“Talent is coming into the area. It’s not that there are so many jobs, but the ones out there are paying well,” Bridge said, adding that although the new tech boom is similar to the dot-com bubble of 2000, it is bringing workers with a more experiential, less materialistic mindset. “They’re not big into being tied down to a big piece of real estate.”

According to the real estate data aggregator Zillow.com, 480 homes were sold in San Francisco in May, down 22 percent in a year-over-year comparison. Meanwhile, RealFacts data show supply running out in San Francisco and San Mateo County, both with a 96 percent occupancy rate, up 6 percent and 1 percent, respectively.

The factors are helping San Francisco maintain its status as one of the most expensive big-city rental markets in the country, which has advocates for current tenants taking notice.

“It’s making it a landlord’s market,” said Ted Gullicksen, executive director of the San Francisco Tenants Union. “We could see more evictions, more tenant buyouts.”

Gullicksen said although The City’s rent-control standards keep some costs in check for renters, state law prevents the controls from being applied to units themselves. Like in 2000, Gullicksen said, he fears without cheaper options, residents could be pushed to the outskirts of the Bay Area.

“I think we’re headed back in that direction,” he said.

Of the 43 markets examined by RealFacts, 41 posted rent increases, with the biggest gains seen in the Bay Area. San Jose, the unofficial capital of Silicon Valley, experienced the largest increase at 6.6 percent, up from $1,650 to $1,759 per month.

dschreiber@sfexaminer.com

Average rent per unit type

Average rent increase

Source: RealFacts

Article source: http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/peninsula/2011/07/influx-workers-drives-rental-rates-san-francisco-and-san-mateo-county

Swift Realty Partners was founded in July of 2010 by former President and Chief Executive Officer of Blackstone’s Equity Office Properties Christopher Peatross. One Concord Center, purchased in late September of 2010, was Swift’s first investment. Several large tenants had vacated the 15-story Concord property located at 2300 Clayton Road prior to the sale and upon purchase, 203,821 sf remained available for lease.

“I am extremely pleased with the pace at which One Concord Center is filling up,” said Swift Founder Christopher Peatross. “I targeted this building as Swift Realty Partners’ first investment because of its incredible potential. With strong ownership and leasing teams in place, One Concord Center is proving itself to be the choice destination for East Bay and Bay Area companies.”

Recent lease transactions at One Concord Center include:

• Sutter Health leased a full floor – 24,960 sf – and will move a finance operation currently based in San Francisco to Concord.
• Swinerton Corporation leased a full floor – 24,960 sf –and will move local operations to the new property.
• Towill Inc. leased 15,680 sf and will expand its 9,238 sf Concord operations and relocate a San Francisco-based group to the new space.
• Progressive Insurance renewed its 11,208 sf lease at the property.
• TRC Environmental leased 9,789 sf and will move local operations to the new property.
• Jacobs Engineering leased 7,987 sf and will move Walnut Creek operations to One Concord Center.
• Rimkus Consulting, Pacific Pension, Business Thru Government, Inc., Closure Solutions, Inc., Validus Corporation, Carotrans International Inc., Lamar Advertising Company and Pacer each signed leases of less than 4,000 sf at One Concord Center.

One Concord Center is Concord’s premier Class A office building. The 358,589 sf 15-story property is located immediately adjacent to the Concord BART station. Occupants also enjoy access to numerous on-site amenities including a fitness facility with showers, a full-service cafe and a large tenant conference center. The building lies within walking distance to the downtown’s numerous restaurants, services and hotels. Other significant tenants at One Concord Center include United Health Group and Cardno Entrix.

“While the Concord commercial real estate market is gradually improving, we are experiencing a tremendous occupancy surge at One Concord Center because of the quality of the space, its location and stable ownership,” said Cornish Carey Commercial Newmark Knight Frank Senior Vice President Breck Lutz. “We anticipate the building to be fully leased in 2012.”

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A dominant regional real estate force since 1935, Cornish Carey Commercial partnered in 2010 with Newmark Knight Frank, one of the largest independent real estate service firms in the world, to become Cornish Carey Commercial Newmark Knight Frank. Regionally, more than 280 agents in 13 strategically located offices throughout Northern California create a powerful combination of people and services that uphold Cornish Carey Commercial Newmark Knight Frank core values of integrity and knowledge. Headquartered in New York, Newmark Knight Frank and London-based partner Knight Frank operate from over 220 offices in established and emerging property markets on six continents. With a combined staff of 7,300 and revenues last year exceeding $861 million, this major force in real estate is meeting the local and global needs of owners, tenants, investors and developers worldwide. For more information, visit: www.ccareynkf.com

Article source: http://www.pr.com/press-release/341018