Rental rates rising for apartment dwellers
4th quarter increase is second highest in the county
By Kyle Jorrey kjorrey@theacorn.com

The average cost of renting an apartment in Simi Valley rose 11.8 percent to $1,593 a month in the fourth quarter of 2006 compared to one year ago, according to RealFacts, an apartment complex tracking service based in Novato, Calif.

Simi remains the second most expensive city in Ventura County- with a population over 20,000- in which to rent an apartment. Apartments are most expensive in Thousand Oaks, where the average rent is $1,621 per month.

The 11.8 percent increase is slightly higher than the countywide fourth quarter increase, which RealFacts puts at 8.8 percent, making the average asking rent for apartments in Ventura County $1,485. That number in the Los AngelesLong BeachSanta Ana metropolitan area is $1,567, according to RealFacts.

Assistant City Manager Brian Gabler said Simi's numbers may be "skewed" in the RealFacts report because of the 2006 opening of Jefferson at Simi Valley, a highend apartment complex situated behind the Simi Valley Town Center.

According to the Jefferson website, the price for a 1,075squarefoot, twobedroom, twobath apartment can be up to $2,335.

"They're brand new, they have amenities other apartment complexes don't have, and they have a higher rent structure," Gabler said.

Though the cost of buying a home in Simi has decreased over the last year, the decline wasn't significant enough to impact the high demand for apartments in the city- a sign that rental costs may continue to climb, Gabler said.

"The cost of buying a house is still out of a reach for a lot of people," he said.

Since there are no new apartment complexes on the horizon, Gabler said, things won't be getting better on the supply side.

"This is Southern California," Gabler said. "Rents are going to be high, that's just a fact of life."

To see RealFacts' complete nationwide fourth quarter report on apartment rental rates, just visit www.realfacts.com