We’ve all heard about how expensive it is to rent in San Francisco, and the numbers don’t lie. This month, the median price for a one-bedroom apartment in the City by the Bay reached an all-time high of $3,720. With SF-based tech companies going public, housing options remaining sparse, and new residents moving to San Francisco in droves, prices and demand are both increasing accordingly. And yet while monthly rent prices continue to grow upwards, there are still better times than others to rent throughout the year. Read on and we’ll break down when you should aim to move to San Francisco.
Rental Data
Every month, our data team does a deep dive into rental prices, both across the nation and within specific metro areas. In looking at our winter rent report, we can see that rental prices in December, January, and February showed the smallest monthly growth. In fact, winter prices were down about 6% compared to the current summer prices, making them the cheapest months to rent within a calendar year.
Of course, median prices are not averages, and many factors must be taken into consideration when looking at them, including:
- Small supply – Housing supply is slow to come to the Bay Area market
- New residents – Migration to the Bay Area for tech jobs has remained strong
- Money to throw around – Liquidity from tech IPOs hit the market (and residents’ pockets), causing more demand for luxury units and bumping the median price up
So, while summer prices in 2018 were very similar to winter prices in 2019, the baseline for one-bedroom rental prices has shifted. Summer 2019 prices have already increased 6.3% since last summer, so it’s not a stretch to say winter prices will remain the best prices of the year.
Check it out in the graph below:
Although it might not look like much, the small dip in rent prices amounts to a savings of more than $200 per month. And, with prices this high to begin with, anything helps.
If you’re looking for an apartment, try holding out until the winter to move to San Francisco. Luckily, the city doesn’t experience a traditional winter, and its summer months are often notoriously foggy anyway. Plus, if you move in the winter, you’ll be all settled in by the time San Francisco Pride, Bay to Breakers, and other fun events roll around in the spring and summer.
When the time comes, search thousands of apartments on Zumper and find your new San Francisco home.
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