{"id":951,"date":"2026-06-01T13:39:23","date_gmt":"2026-06-01T13:39:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=951"},"modified":"2026-06-01T13:39:23","modified_gmt":"2026-06-01T13:39:23","slug":"where-in-california-do-landlords-offer-the-most-discounts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=951","title":{"rendered":"Where in California do landlords offer the most discounts?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div><iframe allow=\"geolocation\" allowfullscreen=\"yes\" allowtransparency=\"1\" class=\"iframe\" height=\"550px\" id=\"6a1d8b84ad45f\" loading=\"lazy\" scrolling=\"yes\" src=\"https:\/\/flo.uri.sh\/visualisation\/26726723\/embed\" width=\"100%\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Nearly one-third of California rentals offer discounts, though landlord generosity \u2013 or desperation, depending on one\u2019s view \u2013 is higher elsewhere in the nation.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=949\">Nearly 2 million Californians live within 3 miles of a plant storing methyl methacrylate like GKN in Garden Grove<\/a><\/p>\n<p>My trusty spreadsheet reviewed a report from real estate tracker Zillow that examined rent pricing patterns in April across 50 large metropolitan areas, including six in California. Zillow tracked discounts by tallying units listed for rent on its online platform that offered concessions.<\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s ponder California price cuts, as measured by the six-county median of Zillow\u2019s finds, and compare those patterns with nationwide trends.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s not too difficult to find California landlords who\u2019ll offer discounts \u2013 the six-metro median share is 31% \u2013 and that\u2019s up from 28% a year ago.<\/p>\n<p>But nationally, 40% of landlords offer concessions, up from 35% a year ago.<\/p>\n<p>And dealmaking is not uniform across the 50 metros. Concessions range from 68% of Denver\u2019s units to 11% in Buffalo.<\/p>\n<p>Why offer deals? Well, many landlords face numerous challenges in filling empty units.<\/p>\n<p>Folks who can afford today\u2019s lofty rents are a limited group, especially when the job market\u2019s a tad wobbly. And a wave of new construction \u2013 far larger outside of California \u2013 creates more competition for new customers. So concessions, often a month or more of free rent, are used to lure in renters.<\/p>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Sadly, all this dealmaking for new clients hasn\u2019t cut what the typical California renter pays, according to Zillow\u2019s rent estimates, which include apartments and houses.<\/p>\n<p>The median overall rent across the six metros was $2,903 per month in April \u2013 50% above the national norm of $1,930. That\u2019s up 2% in the past year, both statewide and nationally.<\/p>\n<h4>Big split<\/h4>\n<p>When pondering the six metros, there\u2019s a clear split: Bay Area vs. elsewhere in California.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=947\">SF Giants\u2019 farm director explains Jonah Cox\u2019s ascent to big-league promotion<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The Bay Area rental market, boosted by renewed tech spending, is seeing concession levels fall and rents rise sharply.<\/p>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Here\u2019s how discounting varies across six California metros, ranked by the share of units with concessions:<\/p>\n<p>\u2013 San Diego: 38% of units offer concessions (No. 26 of the 50 big metros), up 7 percentage points in a year (No. 15 biggest move) \u2013 with rents of $2,914 monthly (fifth-highest) after a 2% one-year gain (No. 27 increase)<\/p>\n<p>\u2013 San Jose: 33% with concessions (No. 30), off 7 points in a year \u2013 the second-biggest drop \u2013 with rents of $3,534 (highest in nation) after a 5% one-year gain (No. 4 increase).<\/p>\n<p>\u2013 Sacramento: 32% with concessions (No. 31), up 4 points in a year (No. 30 move) \u2013 with rents of $2,258 (10th highest) after a 2% one-year gain (No. 25 increase).<\/p>\n<p>\u2013 Los Angeles and Orange counties: 31% with concessions (No. 33), up 4 points in a year (No. 32 move) \u2013 with rents of $2,892 (sixth-highest after a 1% one-year gain (No. 30 increase).<\/p>\n<p>\u2013 Inland Empire: 29% with concessions (No. 37), up 3 points in a year (No. 37 move) \u2013 with rents of $2,510 (eighth-highest) after a 2% one-year gain (No. 23 increase).<\/p>\n<p>\u2013 San Francisco: 27% with concessions (No. 39), off 8 points in a year \u2013 the biggest drop \u2013 with rents of $3,206 (third-highest) after a 7% one-year gain (largest increase).<\/p>\n<p><em>Jonathan Lansner is the business columnist for the Southern California News Group. He can be reached at jlansner@scng.com<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=945\">Bay Area events calendar for June 5-11 weekly editions<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It&#8217;s not too difficult to find California landlords who&#8217;ll offer discounts \u2013 the six-metro median share is 31% \u2013 and that&#8217;s up from 28% a year ago.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":950,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-951","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Where in California do landlords offer the most discounts? - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=951\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Where in California do landlords offer the most discounts? 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