Los Angeles County apartment tenants are having a harder time keeping up with rent increases due to stagnant income growth. This creates pressure for landlords who wish to increase rents. Real estate data firm Reis Inc. reports that the average price for an apartment in LA County reached $1,471 for the second quarter of this year.

Adjusted for inflation, Southern California’s median household income has dropped 11 percent since 2007. Reassuringly, this region has benefited from gaining back most of the jobs lost during the recession. However, because of slowing income growth, households (especially those in the lower-income bracket) are forced to remain as renters. Housing prices have continued to climb over the last two years whether one is looking to rent or buy.

Vacancy rates in the Southland remain at a low three percent, with tenants electing not to move up due to not having additional funds. Despite this trend, certain areas in Los Angeles are still seeing rental price hikes. Similar to Silicon Valley and San Francisco, the areas of Santa Monica and Venice are experiencing a tech boom with industry professionals able to afford increasing rents. The majority of renters have median household incomes of $40,000, which does not leave much room for housing expenses. According to a report filed by Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies, 33 percent of Southland renters spend at least half of their income on rent. Tenants are struggling to cut other aspects of their costs to compensate

Source: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-apartment-rents-20140703-story.html