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A new report released Wednesday predicts that the average apartment rate in Los Angeles County could hit up to $2,300 by next year. This is up approximately 3% from 2016.
The report also expects rent to climb another 3% from 2018 to 2019, to around $2,373, according to the annual USC Casden Real Estate Economics Forecast.
Similar increases are expected in the Orange County greater area, where the average rent is expected to rise to approximately $2,157 in 2019.
The USC forecast says that so far in 2016, rent growth has actually slowed in both of those counties. Real estate agents believe this is because of the large amount of new apartment buildings that have opened. But the downward trend is sadly not expected to continue much longer.
The millennial generation was also targeted in the report as one major reason rent will rise over the next two years.
"With more millennials entering their late twenties and early thirties, demand for multi-family property should be particularly strong," the report said.
This new forecast comes amid increased concerns over the cost of housing in California. Economists believe the high rent and home prices are main causes for the state’s economic slowdown that happened this year.