Report: Bay Area renters move frequently

Hyper-mobile renters (who change homes in the same area in less than two years) make up 38% of the nation’s renter population, according to a new study from RentCafe.

San Jose emerged as California’s top metro for hyper-mobility, followed closely by San Francisco. The Bay Area is, in fact, the only region in the state where the share of renters moving very frequently has grown over time — and San Francisco is at the forefront of this growth, according to the report. 

In the Bay Area: 

• In San Jose, 40% of renters barely unpack before they’re on the move again. Furthermore, a lot more renters move to a different apartment more often than they used to: In the last five years, the overall share of these frequent movers jumped 4.3%.
• San Francisco saw an even more dramatic rise, with its share of hyper-mobile renters increasing by 8.2% — nearly double San Jose’s rate. Here, 34% of renters switch apartments in under two years, marking the second-highest rate in the state.
• Who are these hyper-movers? They’re overwhelmingly Gen Z. In San Jose, 77% of Gen Z renters move very frequently; in San Francisco, it’s 76%. Millennials are also frequent movers: 50% in San Jose and 44% in San Francisco are highly mobile. In other words, in the Bay Area, only one in four Gen Z renters and one in two Millennials have stayed put for more than two years.
• Renter population, demand is still strong in the Bay Area — so much so that renters make up 43% of San Jose’s residents and 40% of San Francisco’s.
• The search for the apartments couldn’t be possible without new options to choose from. San Jose boasts the highest increase in rental units in the state (6.6% over five years), while San Francisco’s supply grew by 3.1%.  
   

The full report is here: https://www.rentcafe.com/blog/rental-market/market-snapshots/residential-mobility/.