San Francisco

Oakland's Rental Prices Boom, San Francisco and San Jose Plateau: Zillow

For the first time in the East Bay city's history, Oakland's rentals are pricing out just above $3,000 per month, according to the "Zillow Rent Index."

That milestone comes almost four years after Oakland's rent index price, which is a statistical model designed by Zillow "to track the monthly median rent in particular geographical regions," sat at a five-year lowpoint of $1,757 per month.

It is important to note that the "Zillow Price Index" used in the housing company's reports reflects the median rental price for certain homes, such as single family abodes and condos, but it excludes apartments. Zillow said that the measuring stick was comissioned to control for extraneous variables that aren't accounted for when one simply takes the median for all rental prices at a given time, Zillow said.

The company did report that the rent list price, which is just the median of all rental prices in Oakland including apartments, checked in at $2,950 in September.

Although Oakland's rent index prices continue to rise month after month, Zillow reports that the two other major metropolitan areas in the Bay Area seem to have plateaued.

The median index price for all rentals in San Jose was $3,412 in July, but has dropped to $3,389 in September. San Francisco rentals priced out at $4,431 in July while posting for $4,414 this past month.

Meanwhile, rent list prices in those two cities have taken a sharper drop since June, according to Zillow.

As for why Oakland has experienced such a boom in recent years, Zillow Senior Economist Aaron Terrazas says that, compared to San Francisco and San Jose, Oakland simply offers cheaper, and thus more attractive housing options.

Terrazas added that Oakland's upward trend may continue in the future as more Bay Area workers seek cheaper living alternatives.

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