New apartments will be pricey to rent | Tim Talk | Tim Hunt | PleasantonWeekly.com |

Local Blogs

Tim Talk

By Tim Hunt

E-mail Tim Hunt

About this blog: I am a native of Alameda County, grew up in Pleasanton and currently live in the house I grew up in that is more than 100 years old. I spent 39 years in the daily newspaper business and wrote a column for more than 25 years in add...  (More)

View all posts from Tim Hunt

New apartments will be pricey to rent

Uploaded: Nov 29, 2016
After nearly 15 years of no apartment construction, Pleasanton will see its count of multi-family units soar this year and next.
There are five projects completed or underway that total 1,228 units—three are in Hacienda Business Park, while the others are at Stanley and Bernal and next to I-680 off Bernal. In January 2014, the city had 25,628 housing units of which 18,854 were single-family.
That leaves 6,774 as multi-family and mobile homes, according to Adam Weinstein, the city’s planning manager. The majority are multi-family because the city only has two mobile home parks on Vineyard Avenue. The city does not track whether the multi-family units are owner-occupied or rentals.
What will be interesting is what type of tenants are attracted as the landlords strive to fill up these new units. The units will be pricey. For instance, studio units at the Galloway across from BART on Willow Road start at $2,167 and are 591 square feet.
Elsewhere one-bedroom units start at $2,800 per month depending on the amenities (elevators and garages) and location (walking to BART). You can also find units at up to $4,000 per month for larger two bedroom or three-bedroom apartments. Thanks to Fran Reisner in the city’s housing department for these numbers.

The bottom line: these are not affordable housing units. Renters will need significant monthly incomes to move into these new units.
At this point, it’s anyone’s guess, for instance, how many families with school-aged children will move into the new units. A significant influx of new families will have an impact on the school district—time will tell on that one. The district has had a remarkably stable enrollment over the last several years, although elementary school enrollment dropped this year.
And, it will be interesting to watch the lease market with some many units coming on line in a relatively short time. Will Pleasanton be an attractive community for millennials who are single or married and have not started a family. Lots of the turnover in existing neighborhoods is being driven by professional couples making good money who are ready to start a family.
And is there enough pent-up demand to lease up 1,228 units within about a year? The new units will add about 18 percent to the city’s multi-family housing stock.
Local Journalism.
What is it worth to you?

Comments

Posted by Cholo, a resident of Livermore,
on Nov 29, 2016 at 9:05 am

I don't believe that $2,167 is unreasonable. There are many young individuals and couples who work and share space. A lease is reasonable, especially when a unit is new.


Posted by SHale, a resident of San Ramon,
on Nov 29, 2016 at 3:05 pm

SHale is a registered user.

Compared to what is $2167 reasonable for barely 500 sq feet?


Posted by DKHSK, a resident of Bridle Creek,
on Nov 29, 2016 at 7:35 pm

DKHSK is a registered user.

Those rents are market priced. If people can't afford the price and the units go empty, the rents will come down.

That's really all there is to it.




Posted by FrequentWalkerMiles, a resident of Another Pleasanton neighborhood,
on Nov 30, 2016 at 9:18 am

FrequentWalkerMiles is a registered user.

Remember the stories that ran here about those who sublease their apartments to multiple families under the table? I assume these new units won't be any different.


Posted by SHale, a resident of San Ramon,
on Nov 30, 2016 at 11:36 am

SHale is a registered user.

the probability of new units going empty is not high, not w/in 50 miles of SF/SJ/Penn etc etc. Just look at Dougherty Valley. As soon as a home is released, it is SOLD!


Posted by Sam, a resident of Oak Hill,
on Dec 1, 2016 at 7:37 am

All in all, I would think that the rents are reasonable for the current market. When I first moved here around 1990, I paid $630 per month for a one-bedroom apartment and the median price of a house in Pleasanton was around $220K. With one-bedroom apartments now around $2000 per month and the median price of a house around $800K, the rent has gone up by a factor of about 3.2x and the price of a house has gone up by a factor of about 3.6x. So it appears that Pleasanton rental prices and Pleasanton housing prices have remained consistent with each other.


Posted by longtime landlord, a resident of Downtown,
on Dec 1, 2016 at 11:02 am

They need to be priced well above what Section 8 housing recipients can afford. Unless you want your place to look like the projects in the slums of Chicago. I have owned rental properties, single family and multi-family for nearly 40 years. Never once lost a single day of rent because I have a wait list of renters who are willing to pay for the time the property is turned around just to be able to get into it. My rents have always been 10-20% above the highest in the area because I want to wash out those looking only for a bargain. Again, unless I wanted my place to look like the projects.
If people cannot afford these then the units will go vacant. Simple economics. Why should any landlord, individual or corporate, be required to rent to the lowest bidder and then take the hit when the property is trashed?


Posted by Cholo, a resident of Livermore,
on Dec 2, 2016 at 10:01 am

$600 per mth housing:

Web Link


Posted by TriValley resident, a resident of Downtown,
on Dec 3, 2016 at 3:48 pm

Hi Longtime Landlord: Our family has been in the rental business for years also. However, most units purchased in the 1960s had eventually become rent-controlled areas. We're eventually pulling out slowly from those areas to others in the tri-Valley, since we had experienced costly problems with tenants in some units. Your idea of renting even above market rate to avoid problems is something we had not considered, so will consider that when there is another vacancy.


Posted by Budgeting Taxpayer, a resident of Another Pleasanton neighborhood,
on Dec 4, 2016 at 1:09 pm

Budgeting Taxpayer is a registered user.

Well they better be well over Section 8 housing. I certainly do not want to be making their rent payments for them !! I hope we have some way to 'police' the occupancy, i.e. NOT multiple families shuffling through, and not on public assistance. That crap will not be tolerated.


Follow this blogger.
Sign up to be notified of new posts by this blogger.

Email:

SUBMIT

Post a comment

Sorry, but further commenting on this topic has been closed.

Stay informed.

Get the day's top headlines from PleasantonWeekly.com sent to your inbox in the Express newsletter.

Transgender controversy played out at Dublin High track meet
By Tim Hunt | 25 comments | 3,544 views

Eligibility in the Local Context (ELC)
By Elizabeth LaScala | 0 comments | 816 views

 

2023 guide to summer camps

Looking for something for the kids to do this summer, learn something new and have fun? The Summer Camp Guide features local camps for all ages and interests.

Find Camps Here