California renters are very picky customers

"California renters are finicky customers, changing apartments far more often than the typical American tenant. But when they find the right place, they stay longer than the national norm. That's what my trusty spreadsheet learned after reviewing RentCafe's second-quarter report on how tough it is to find an apartment in 136 U.S. markets, including a dozen from the Golden State."

"On a national scale, California renters prefer change. Consider that 11 of the 12 California markets ranked among the 25 lowest renewal rates in the U.S. California was home to three of the five markets with less than half of all tenants reupping with the landlord: Central Coast (43%), Western Los Angeles County (44%), and San Francisco/North Bay (49%). And Orange County, at 62%, was the only California market near the 64% median renewal rate for the 124 other markets across the nation."

"However, when it comes to another loyalty statistic the average length of stay in a rental Californians move far less frequently. Five of the 12 California markets were in the top 25 for longest stays: Central Coast (No. 5) at 40 months, Eastern L.A. (No. 9) at 38 months, North L.A./Ventura County (No. 12) at 37 months, San Francisco/North Bay (No. 16) at 35 months, and the Inland Empire (No. 21) at 34 months."

California rental markets show low lease renewal rates alongside long average tenant stays. Eleven of 12 California markets ranked among the 25 lowest renewal rates nationwide, with Central Coast (43%), Western Los Angeles County (44%), and San Francisco/North Bay (49%) below 50%. Orange County registered 62%, near the 64% median for other markets. The median renewal rate in California stood at 53% versus 63% for the rest of the nation. Conversely, five California markets ranked among the top 25 for longest stays, and the median stay across 12 California markets was 35 months, nearly three years.

Read at www.ocregister.com