Inland Empire Rents on the Rise

It’s getting more expensive to rent an apartment in the Inland Empire, although that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

Rental rates were up 7.9 percent in Riverside and San Bernardino counties compared with June 2015, according to the latest edition of Matrix Monthly, which is published by Yardi Systems Inc. in Santa Barbara.

That was the fifth-largest increase in apartment rental rates of any major U.S. market during that time. Sacramento was first with an 11.5 percent increase, followed by Seattle at 10.8 percent, Portland at 9.3 percent and Los Angeles at just under 10 percent.

Average monthly apartment rent in the Inland Empire was $1,309.33 this month, up from $1,212.52 in June 2015, said Jack G. Kern, director of research and publications for Yardi Systems Inc.

However, there’s a positive explanation for that increase: the market’s recent job growth.

“You have a lot of people moving into the Inland Empire because there are more jobs there, most of them in logistics and construction,” Kern said. “You also have some people moving into the Inland Empire to get out of the more expensive market in Los Angeles. So it’s a good thing, because it’s being driven mostly by job growth.”

Yardi Systems conducts research and designs software for the real estate industry. It employs about 5,000 people, Kern said.