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West Sacramento Rent Decreasing 44 Percent? Real Estate Experts Say, 'There's No Way'

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — A new real estate report shows an almost 44% drop in monthly rent in West Sacramento.

An apartment guide shows the top 25 cities where rent is decreasing the most in the country, and they claim West Sacramento took the top spot.

CBS13 showed Cecilia Cordova, a Realtor with Lyon Real Estate, the report. She said, "It was shocking to me and a few agents in my office. I haven't seen that. I know that market pretty well, and I haven't seen anything like that," she said.

"Apartments Guide" says year-to-year the rent in West Sacramento has dropped more than 43%. It tops the list for the most decreased rent in the country. Rancho Cordova also comes in at Number 25, down 16%.

They are comparing average 1-bedroom rental properties across the country.

"The rental market is very strong here, and I don't see it going down anytime soon," said Mark McGuire with McGuire Real Estate in Vacaville.

He says Solano County is seeing an increase in rentals. He says that's because more Bay Area residents are choosing to buy and rent outside of the city.

"West Sacramento, I still have a hard time buying that too that doesn't sound right, for all of California rents have continued to rise and even if we had some kind of turn it would take years," McGuire said.

According to Zillow, rents are still increasing across all listed rentals year over year in the Sacramento Metro area, up to $1,789 a month in May 2020.

But economic expert Dr. Sanjay Varshnay and both real estate agents agree housing inventory across the state is low, including in West Sacramento. He says that impacts the cost of your rental, which could be where some sort of decrease, comes from.

"West Sacramento was a very attractive market before the COVID-19 crisis, and it is no surprise that it's going to be making headlines for the maximum declines too because the demand is going to shrink and a lot of people will back away from being able to afford some of these rents," said Varshnay.

When we asked Representatives from Apartment Guide where they got that data, bringing West Sacramento to the number one spot, they tell us they use a weighted average formula, and cities were excluded if they did not have an average of at least 50 properties in the companies available inventory.

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