Tom York on Business: San Diego Ranks Second in U.S. for Highest Percentage of Renters

The struggle for housing continues in the land of America’s finest city.

San Diego is among the top five U.S. cities with the highest percentage of renters, according to a new report from residential real estate web broker Redfin.

We are second behind Los Angeles, which has a rental percentage of 53%. San Diego’s share of renters versus homeowners is 52.4%. Nationwide the rate is 34.4%.

The two SoCal cities are followed by New York (50.1%), Fresno, CA (49%) and Austin (46.3%).

Those who have to rent have flooded the rental because homebuying is so much more costly due to rising interest rates.

According to the Redfin report, the number of renter households jumped 2% year over year in the second quarter to a record 45.2 million.

“That’s over three times faster than the number of homeowner households, which grew 0.6% to a record 86.3 million,” according to Redfin.

What’s notable about San Diego is that the cost of renting has skyrocketed along with the cost of buying and owning a home.

Compared to sister cities in the state, San Diego’s percentage of homeowners is somewhat surprising.

“America’s renter population is growing as the cost of homeownership climbs; mortgage payments are up 90% from before the pandemic, while asking rents are up 23%,” according to the report.

According to another online residential real estate site Zillow.com, the median rent in San Diego is $3,150, $1,000 higher than the median rate nationally.

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And while we’re on the topics of rent in San Diego, the online apartment rental website RentCafe has released a study on just how far your rent dollar goes in San Diego.

The latest analysis of 200 U.S. cities reveals how big of a place you can get for $1,500.

The answer for San Diego is not very far, as is well known to anyone who rents here.

That $1,500 secures just 442 square feet, the size of a studio apartment, according to my rough estimate.

In Oceanside, you get a little more — 497 square feet — for the same amount of money, while in Chula Vista you get about 510 square feet—the size of a small one-bedroom unit.

Escondido renters get the most space, 543 square feet for that $1,500.

The average size of new apartments in the U.S. is 916 square feet, while in San Diego, the average is 832 square feet. This is according to another RentCafe report.

For detailed insights and interactive maps, go to the report at RentCafe.

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Texas-based alternative investment manager Civitas Capital Group has filed the paperwork required to help finance the construction of a 76-unit high-end apartment complex in North Park.

The firm is looking for 18 investors to contribute $14.4 million which will be used to help underwrite construction costs.

The money will be raised under the 34-year-old federal EB-5 program, in which foreign nationals can invest $800,000 or $1.05 million in a new commercial enterprise in the United States.

The firm said the investors can expect a return in the fourth quarter of 2027, which is unusually quick for such investments.

What’s interesting about the firm’s news release is its description of the neighborhood and the need for the project.

“North Park has one of the densest populations of 25- to 34-year-olds in San Diego, has a plethora of walkable amenities, and has easy access to downtown and San Diego’s largest employment nodes,” the release said.

“San Diego is a supply-constrained market with what Civitas believes are very positive long-term demand drivers,” the release added.

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Convoy area restaurant Mikami Bar & Revolving Sushi has launched the “Mikami Takes You to Japan!” sweepstakes, which features a trip for two to Japan.

Customers can take part by spending $80 or more at Mikami Revolving Sushi or its sister property, Take the Bait, between Aug.1 and Sept. 8.

The winner, to be announced on Sept. 9, will receive two round-trip flights to Japan valued up to $3,000.

To make your reservation, visit mikamisushi.com.

Mikami features a “kaiten” conveyor belt, the largest revolving sushi restaurant in San Diego, and also has a robotic wait staff and a bullet train for kids.

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Chicago-based Sidley, which bills itself as one of the world’s largest legal firms with 2,300 lawyers and revenue of $3.1 billion, has opened its fifth California office in San Diego, hiring five partners for the office.

The firm now has five offices in California.

According to a news release, the new office targets San Diego’s life sciences and technology sectors.

“We have served numerous marquee San Diego companies over the years and are excited to cement our commitment to this city and deepen those business relationships,” said Mike Schmidtberger, an executive for the firm, said in the release. “We believe our platform and capabilities in the sectors important to this market will add considerable value to the growing business ecosystem.”

The new office includes partners Jon Olsen, Chris Egleson, Eric Kauffman, Cindy Lovering, and James Lu, along with three senior managing associates.

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Salt Lake City alternative energy developer Bridge Renewable Energy, along with two other contractors, has started construction of a 1.8 MW solar and storage project on the Rincon Reservation here in the county. The work will include Harrah’s Resort SoCal.

According to a news release, the project, which took three years of preparation, involves installing solar panels and energy storage systems across multiple facilities on tribal lands.

The release said the work aims to reduce carbon output and energy costs for the reservation’s residents and businesses.

“We are committed to providing renewable energy and lowering our monthly energy costs,” said Rincon Tribe Chairman Bo Mazzetti.

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Finally…The San Diego chapter of the American Marketing Association is accepting registrations for its The Art of Marketing: Marketing Superheroes conference Oct. 25 at the Knauss Center of Business Education at University of San Diego.

The conference will feature 30+ speakers and panels “designed to provide marketing professionals with inspiration, insights and creative ways to forge new strategies and skills required to combat the evil forces of over-saturation, over-consumption, overwhelm, tech overload, and marginalization.”

Tom York is a Carlsbad-based independent journalist who specializes in writing about business and the economy. If you have news tips you’d like to share, send them to tom.york@gmail.com.