Affordability drops as Bakersfield rental prices skyrocket | New

This surge is mainly the result of supply and demand biases, exacerbating the urban housing crisis, making it more difficult for people to recover from the homeless and causing people with apartments to think twice before. to move.

“I thought Bakersfield was very affordable,” said Carlos Baldvinos, executive director of the Kern County Homeless Shelter Mission. “But the pull of the housing market hurt it because of its affordability.”

He said that when shelter graduates typically try to move into rental housing with subsidized vouchers, there aren’t enough apartments available and the units aren’t long term anyway. When looking for a place to resell, there aren’t many places available.

“They have a minimum wage job. They cannot pay $ 1,800 a month for an apartment. It is simply unfeasible, ”he said. “It’s called the LA price.”

Bakersfield’s housing market has tightened considerably in recent years, as the shortage of apartments and rental housing met the growing demand for people from outside the region during the pandemic easing of restrictions on the face to face workplace. ..

Vacancy rates are lower than ever, according to ASU reports, but home prices this year are at all-time highs, according to appraiser Gary Crabtree. Apartment managers say they’re getting more calls than ever from people eager to find a place to live.

Heather Kimmel, deputy general manager of the Kern County Housing Corporation, said local governments are doing all they can to help build affordable housing. At the same time, apartments at market prices are developing. But Kimmel said it wasn’t enough.

She cited a 2019 survey that suggests Kern County needs more than 26,000 affordable housing units to meet demand. This was before the tightening that had occurred since the pandemic, and she said her income did not keep up with subsequent rent increases.

“It just widens the gap and increases the need,” Kimmel said. City and county governments are streamlining routes for apartment developers and the Housing Corporation is working to introduce new inventories, she added.

It is not just the people who live in so-called affordable housing who are in difficulty. The same goes for tenants of apartments at market prices.

More than a third of renters who tell local apartment owners St. Clair Realty Inc. that they are moving immediately think about it, said owner Frank St. Clair. He added that the share could be close to half.

“Every time you ask them it’s the same story, ‘Oh my god I didn’t know the rent was going up (so much),’ he said.

“They are shocked at the price,” he continued. “They don’t want to move.

ASU reported that in the third quarter alone, the number of properties asking for rents of $ 2,000 or more tripled to six.

On the other hand, the city’s owners have not offered concessions such as price cuts, and around 3 dozen are reported to charge for utilities. Both market indicators represent a significant recovery compared to recent years.

There is no doubt that Bakersfield is experiencing a “homeowners market” driven by high demand and low supply, said Ian William Sharpe, director of Khan’s Income Property Association. , said in an email.

The higher the price, the greater the risk of going up faster, he wrote: A market bubble could form. It may not be worth it in the long run, to the point that the landlord increases the rent and the rent cannot keep up.

“New tenants are drawn to affordability, but when affordability disappears we’re back in place,” he wrote.