
Silicon Valley is the most challenging place to find a rental in all of California, according to a new report from RentCafe.
The study calculated a Rental Competitiveness Index (RCI) to measure how hot the U.S. market was in 2024. Silicon Valley has seen its RCI score grow by 7.5 points to 80.9, driven by the tech sector’s revival.
Silicon Valley is defined by the report as San Jose, Sunnyvale, Santa Clara, Mountain View, Campbell, Cupertino, Milpitas, Palo Alto and San Benito County ranked 10th hardest in the nation to find rental housing.
The report notes in the Silicon Valley:
- RCI (Competitiveness Score): Jumped to 80.9 from 73.4 in 2023, making it the most competitive market in California.
- Vacancy Days: Apartments stayed vacant for just 35 days, slightly longer than last year’s 33 days, indicating quick turnover.
- Prospective Renters: The number of renters vying for each apartment remained high at 12 renters per unit.
- Lease Renewals: The lease renewal rate surged to 54.6%, up from 47.9%, further limiting available options for new renters.
- New Apartments: Construction increased slightly, with 1.84% of units added, but this has not kept pace with demand.
The Northern Bay Area, defined as San Francisco, Santa Rosa, San Mateo, Daly City, Foster City, Napa, Rohnert Park, Redwood City, Petaluma and San Rafael, offers a less competitive environment for renters:
- RCI Score: Increased only slightly to 65.4 from 63.5 in 2023.
- Vacancy Days: Apartments remained vacant for 42 days, longer than Silicon Valley, giving renters more time to secure a unit.
- Prospective Renters: Fewer renters competed for each unit, with 7 renters per apartment, down from 8 last year.
- Lease Renewals: Tenant retention grew modestly to 48.8%, up from 47.6%.
- New Apartments: The share of new units nearly doubled to 3.11%, helping ease supply constraints.
The East Bay (Oakland, Fremont, Hayward, Walnut Creek, Dublin, Concord, San Leandro, Richmond, Fairfield, San Ramon, Vacaville and Pleasanton) showed moderate competition, providing a middle ground for renters compared to the Northern Bay Area and Silicon Valley:
- RCI Score: Rose to 69.3 from 63.3 in 2023, indicating slightly higher competition.
- Vacancy Days: Apartments were vacant for an average of 43 days, longer than both Silicon Valley and the Northern Bay Area.
- Prospective Renters: The demand remained steady at 9 renters per unit.
- Lease Renewals: Retention increased significantly, with the lease renewal rate rising to 51.2% from 45.5%.
- New Apartments: The share of new apartments declined to 1.55%, down from 2.06%, slightly tightening supply.
For the full report visit: https://www.rentcafe.com/blog/rental-market/market-snapshots/most-competitive-rental-markets-this-year/

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