Renting in Dana Point, Newport gets even costlier

January 21st, 2013,

Dana Point and Newport Beach – already two of Orange County’s priciest cities to rent in – became even pricier late last year.

The average rent for a large-complex apartment in Dana Point shot up 10.5 percent in the last three months of 2012, apartment tracker RealFacts reported. The average rent there was up $177 from the same period in 2011, rising to an average of $1,867 a month.
In Newport Beach, apartment rents increased 7.4 percent, or $156 a month, rising to $2,263 a month.

City	Avg. Rent	1 yr ch %
Dana Point	$1,867	10.5%
Newport Beach	$2,263	7.4%
Mission Viejo	$1,545	6.7%
Cypress	$1,425	6.2%
Stanton	$1,282	5.8%
Aliso Viejo	$1,722	5.6%
Costa Mesa	$1,660	5.2%
Fullerton	$1,391	5.1%
Fountain Valley	$1,442	4.9%
Anaheim	$1,368	4.7%
Huntington Beach	$1,511	4.4%
Rancho Santa Margarita	$1,492	4.0%
Brea	$1,435	4.0%
Santa Ana	$1,469	3.8%
Garden Grove	$1,354	3.4%
Irvine	$1,959	3.3%
Buena Park	$1,302	3.1%
Westminster	$1,347	3.1%
Tustin	$1,573	2.9%
Orange	$1,612	2.7%
Placentia	$1,490	2.1%
Lake Forest	$1,530	1.5%
Laguna Niguel	$1,578	1.5%
La Habra	$1,293	1.2%

La Habra, which has Orange County’s second-lowest apartment rent, also had the smallest rent increase: 1.2 percent, or $15. Apartment rents there averaged $1,293 a month.
The countywide average, by comparison, was $1,637 a month, a record high. Orange County apartment rents were up 4.9 percent from a year ago, or $76 a month.
RealFacts surveys Orange County apartment complexes with 90 or more units, reporting data for cities with at least five large complexes.
Rents rose in all 24 cities included in RealFacts’ report for the fourth consecutive quarter. Vacancy rates decreased in 14 of the cities and rose in 10.
In addition, the RealFacts report showed:
Newport Beach continued to have the county’s highest apartment rents.
Irvine’s average apartment rented for $1,959 a month, second-highest, followed by Dana Point.
Stanton, La Habra and Buena Park were the three cheapest cities in which to rent an apartment. Stanton’s average apartment rent was $1,282 a month, and Buena Park’s was $1,302 a month.
Buena Park, Cypress and Stanton were the three hardest cities in which to find an apartment, with 3 percent or fewer apartments empty.
Dana Point, Westminster and Fullerton had the biggest drops in vacancy rates. Dana Point vacancies declined 4.9 percentage points to 5 percent of all units; Westminster’s dropped 2.9 percentage points to 5.3 percent; and Fullerton’s fell 2.2 percentage points to 4.3 percent.
Placentia, Rancho Santa Margarita and Irvine had the greatest availability. In Placentia, 6.6 percent of large-complex apartments were vacant. Rancho Santa Margarita vacancy rate was 6.1 percent, and Irvine’s was 5.6 percent.
Countywide, the apartment vacancy rate was 4.9 percent.