Rent in city among highest

Jenny Marder

The schools are top-notch, the weather is almost always sunny with

cool ocean breezes, and the location can’t be beat. Surf City’s got a

lot going for it, and the cost of living reflects it.

Huntington Beach was one of the priciest cities in the country to

rent a home in 2000, according to an analysis compiled by the U.S.

Census Bureau, which ranked Huntington Beach 10th highest in rent in

the nation among cities with a population of 100,000 or greater.

Three years ago, the median gross rent in Huntington was $985 per

month, 38% higher than the national average of $602.

The census bureau defines gross rent as the cost of rent combined

with the estimated cost of fuel and utilities. The report included

37.5 million rental housing units, one-third of the nation’s 105.5

million units.

Julian Castro, owner of Huntington Beach Realtors, summed it up in

two words -- “the beach.” People feel that it’s worth the money they

pay to live in Huntington Beach, he said.

“There’s a lot of wealth in Huntington Beach,” he said. “A lot of

doctors, lawyers, pharmacists, professional people ... . And it’s a

safe city on top of that.”

While the census numbers reflect the high rents of 2000, Castro

has seen rent go up as much as 25% in the last three years -- a rise

that he said is because of increasing demand.

“Houses are rented very rapidly,” he said. “I’m glad I don’t have

to pay the rent.”

David Biggs, the city’s director of economic development,

attributes the high rent to the standard of living.

“It’s a coastal community, and Orange County in general is a very

job-rich location,” Biggs said. “It’s a very desirable place to

live.”

Huntington’s southerly neighbor, Irvine, topped the list with a

monthly average rent of $1,272. Rent in the California cities of

Sunnyvale and Santa Clara came in close behind at $1,270 and $1,238,

respectively. Other California cities on the list were Fremont,

Thousand Oaks, San Jose, Daly City and Simi Valley.

All but one of the top 10 cities are in California. Stamford,

Conn. Ranked No. nine, with a monthly average rent of $1,007.

However, compared to other states, California ranked third in the

country, at an average of $747 per month, edged out by Hawaii at $779

and New Jersey at $751.

Rent is cheapest in Brownsville, Texas, Erie, Pa. and St. Louis,

Mo., according to the Census Bureau. Most of the high-rent areas were

cities that touch the coast, said Robert Bonnette, the bureau survey

statistician who compiled the report.

High-rent areas, he said, were found along the Boston to

Washington corridor, at the southern coast of Florida, around Puget

Sound and in neighborhoods around large metropolitan areas such as

Minneapolis, Denver, Chicago, Detroit, Atlanta and Austin, Texas.

Shortage of housing coupled with high demand keeps the prices

high, Biggs said.

“We’re mostly built out, and there’s not a lot of opportunity for

more product,” Biggs said. “It all boils down to supply and demand.”

* JENNY MARDER covers City Hall. She can be reached at (714)

965-7173 or by e-mail at jenny.marder@latimes.com.