The San Diego rental market is exploding. There are numerous opportunities for the creative and entrepreneurial property owner. As of January 2017, the average rent in San Diego was $2,113. When you lease a property in Downtown, the average studio apartment goes for $1,640 and jumps to $3,775 a month for a three-bedroom apartment, much higher than the national average. In fact, Downtown San Diego is the most expensive neighborhood in San Diego County (however, it exchanges first place with La Jolla/University City often).
Downtown offers huge opportunities for ambitious property owners. There are numerous opportunities to receive huge returns on your real property investments. Furthermore, there are numerous buildings going up all over Downtown from near the Harbor to the entrances near the 5-North. The new construction means that everyone, big developers and small property owners, all believe that San Diego is a hot market for rentals.
Your Market: Young, Diverse Professionals
Before you break into the Downtown San Diego market, you should understand the make-up of its residents. San Diego is a boomtown for young, “Millenial” professionals. Many of the residents in Downtown San Diego are the millennials that CNN continues to credit for the “Urban Renaissance,” walkable cities, and reduced demand for cars. The demographics of Downtown San Diego are no different.
Additionally, San Diego, like California, is not majority-minority. The result is an incredibly diverse city with diverse tastes. Downtown is no exception but the Downtown residents are unified by their recently accumulated wealth and their distaste of owning property.
Finally, Downtown San Diegans are defined by their marital status, single or divorced. Downtown San Diego, especially the Gaslamp Quarter, has an exciting night-life with pedicabs that compete for fares with elaborate lights and music, street performers, and a huge concentration of sleek restaurants, bars, and clubs. It is the perfect location for a single man or woman to hang out, have fun, and meet new people.
You should design your properties to cater to these young, successful millennials. A property management company can help you attract this new market by offering them amenities that matter to them. For instance, many young professionals’ own animals. A property management company can help you draft a pet-friendly lease policy (and more importantly, implement fixtures that are more resilient to animals.)
Unique Factors in Downtown
Downtown residents are all about being on the go. With that in mind, you may want to consider remodeling your apartments to cater to that lifestyle. For instance, installing automatic locking door locks is a great way to differentiate your property from the competitors. Additionally, USB-equipped wall outlets is another distinguishing factor.
A property management company can help you examine the unique housing needs of the Downtown San Diegan and adjust your property to fulfill those needs. Luckily, the average household income of a Downtown resident is $78,053, so they have plenty of cash to burn on a smartly designed apartment.
For instance, efficiently design your apartment to maximize the use of space. Modern furniture that captures the millennials attention is modular and smartly designed. When you remodel, seek the advice of a property management company to maximize the space and smartly design the allocation of rooms. Many property owners sacrifice functionality for design. Don’t approach your properties from the perspective of a real estate investor, approach it from the perspective of a young college-educated professional looking to have fun.
While Downtown San Diego offers huge opportunities for the creative property owner, its residents are also fickle and major developments are breaking ground all over the city. A property management company is an easy way to take advantage of the opportunities this real estate market presents without compromising your financial situation.