The San Diego rental market is constantly shifting. You don’t have to be an experienced investor or a veteran property manager to know that. When you’re constantly evaluating your presence in the market, however, you have to understand where it’s been and where it’s likely to go. None of us can tell the future, but we can watch the way the sales market and the rental market are influencing residents and rental values. We can make decisions about how to market homes, when to recommend upgrades, and where to maximize maintenance dollars as the market evolves.

Owners and investors partner with property managers in order to have a more successful and a more profitable investment experience. We’re counted on to lease, manage, and maintain rental properties expertly. There’s more to our work than collecting rent, placing residents, and scheduling maintenance. We’re also responsible for following the market and helping our clients respond to what’s happening.

Property managers need to stay on top of emerging trends in order to remain competitive and maximize the profits of our owners and investors. We also want to continue providing the best possible rental experience to our residents.

Knowing how to navigate the ever-changing landscape is important, but with so much information available, it can be challenging to know where to start and how to analyze the constant flood of information that’s coming in.

Let’s consider some of the best strategies for staying one step ahead of evolving market trends in San Diego’s rental market.

Gathering Good Data: Pay Attention to the Numbers

Every good property manager in San Diego will be educated on the market. We are constantly doing our research, sharing that research with our owners, and analyzing the median rent prices and vacancy rate. We’re studying how and when residents decide to renew lease agreements and when they’re more likely to move out. We look at eviction rates and we consider inflation and the local economic factors. We think about the fact that San Diego has a large population of military residents.

Collecting good data will help you stay ahead of the curve when it comes to the San Diego rental market. Things are changing almost every day, so the rental value that seemed so certain two months ago might be very different next month. Rental prices have gone up in San Diego over the last year, and before you list a new rental property, you need to know if they’re peaking or if there’s still room to push them a little higher. The only way to know that is by studying the data.

Understanding the demand for rental properties is critical to knowing what’s coming. The local rental market has always been competitive; we have a lot of well-qualified residents looking for high quality homes. With prices inching higher and more people choosing to rent, we’re in a unique spot. But, are we likely to stay in this strong rental market or will things begin to cool later this year? Good property managers will make some judgments based on what’s happening now and what has happened previously.

The data we study isn’t simply data around rental values, vacancy rates, and retention numbers. We also look at what’s happening economically. We consider new housing developments and additional infrastructure in the area. Which employers are moving in and which are laying off workers? These changes can have a direct impact on your ability to attract residents and charge higher rents.

Technology Keeps Property Managers in San Diego Up to Date

It’s hard to follow (or stay ahead of) the latest rental trends without leveraging good technology. The tech we use as property managers has revolutionized the way we lease and manage our properties and communicate with residents.

By utilizing property management software and automating functions like resident screening, inspections, and rent collection, it’s easy to see what residents expect and how we can make our management systems better.

When we don’t have to worry about things like rent collection, lease renewal tracking, and scheduling in-person showings, we can focus on more important tasks like following the rental market and making recommendations to our owners. Our job is easier, which means our job is more effective. We’re providing value and convenience to owners and residents by allowing technology to make us more efficient and flexible.

California Rental Laws

Staying ahead of the rental market is especially important when we’re talking about the landlord and resident laws in California. Thanks to recent and established legislation, property managers in San Diego need to be constantly updating their knowledge and expertise when it comes to:

Rent control, specifically which properties are impacted and which are exempt.
Just cause eviction and the entire eviction process in a post-COVID rental market.
Section 8 residents and fair housing.
Security deposit restrictions, timelines, and requirements.
Habitability standards and requirements.

The laws are always changing, and residents have a lot of support and protection when they rent a home in San Diego. We need to provide the same level of support to our owners and investors, and in order to do that, we have to be educated. This requires ongoing education, constant study of how the law is being applied, and a commitment to keeping all of the properties we manage in compliance. Effective property managers are constantly watching for legislative changes.

Navigating today’s ever-changing rental market can be challenging, especially when we’re already busy with the day-to-day work of managing, leasing, and maintaining rental property. It isn’t impossible, however. We can stay ahead of the evolving rental market by utilizing the right strategies that keep us ahead of the curve and looking beyond the latest trends.

We have plenty of tools, resources, and expertise to help you stay one step ahead of every development, too. We can help you succeed in any market, so if you’d like to talk about your rental property and how it may need to be positioned for an evolving market, we’d love to talk with you. Contact us at Walters Home Management.