Every other phone call we receive at Barrett & Associates lately is a discouraged party looking for a residential rental in Nevada County with no success. We are hearing how difficult it is to secure a home in Nevada County over and over again. Have the prices risen in the last year? Absolutely! Are we in line with San Francisco price? No Way! Although the Nevada County rental market is HOT…we are not living in San Francisco prices…at lease not yet.
What is contributing to higher rent prices? Greater demand. Lower inventory. Nevada County’s recent publicity to bigger cities (Sunset Magazine’s February 2017 named Nevada City one of “20 Best Value Towns, SF Chronicle Insert on Destination Nevada County) is a driving factor. The time of year (summer is always a bigger time for rentals to turn over because a lot of leases end in the summer months and because school is out so it is an easier time to move) is another factor.
So, what is a prospective tenant to do that cannot secure a rental home in Nevada City, Grass Valley, Penn Valley? Well, that is tough. They can look on the outskirts of Nevada County (more inventory and lower prices in Auburn and Yuba City areas). They can wait until the market cools off (we should begin to see that happening as the season changes into fall/winter).
The problem with over inflated prices in the rental housing market in Nevada County is that once the market readjusts, all of the tenants that signed leases at the inflated prices are going to move next summer into something more affordable and in line with new market values. What does this mean to Nevada County? An over abundance of supply next summer with lower market rates is my predication.
