SPECIAL REPORT: Rents on the rise across the Central Coast

Living on the Central Coast has perks, but it also comes with a hefty price tag. For many, buying a home isn’t even an option. But as the demand for rentals goes up, so does the cost; pricing people out of the area. Experts say it’s a trend that’s hurting everyone.

Sally Backus of Backus Properties is a Salinas native who has seen it all.

She says nowadays, it’s hard to find any housing at all, affordable or not. “Where you used to be able to find a one bedroom apartment maybe for $600 a month, it’s probably now going to be $900 a month,” Backus said. “Hard to find and you better be a darn good applicant.”

But if you’re looking for something more affordable, you definitely won’t find it along the coast. An average one bedroom in Monterey will go for about $1,500. In Santa Cruz, where the competition is brutal because of thousands of UC Santa Cruz students, you can expect to pay up to $1,900 for a single bedroom apartment.

People like Carlos Perez III feel the burden. He’s the head cashier at New Leaf in Capitola and it took him three months to find a place he couldn afford. “Luckily I have dual income, which helps out a lot,” Perez said. “If I was single income, it would have taken a lot longer.”

New Leaf’s HR Director Sabra Reyes says the majority of their employees have roommates or opt for a commute. “It’s just a really expensive place to live,” Reyes said. “I would say absolutely our employees, our staff have experienced that.”

As a result, the store chain recently decided to raise the minimum wage from $10.30 to $12 per hour. Employees in other positions will also get a bump in pay.

The goal? To make it possible for workers to live in the neighborhoods where they work. “We want to be ahead of the curve,” Reyes said. “We want to be ahead of the challenges our employees face.”

But there’s another new twist in this tight housing economy. Backus says she’s now getting calls from companies trying to help new hires find places to live.

Things have gotten so tough, some businesses are even willing to co-sign. “We have more people moving in and we really haven’t done any construction since the downfall of the economy five to seven years ago,” Backus said.

Newschannel 5 spoke with a local contractor who said they’re trying to do that construction. Between plans, site surveys and community input hearings, it can be a long and drawn out process. Plus, some cities don’t make it easy.

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The demand for rentals is increasing, while construction is nearly non-existent, driving prices up.

In Salinas, an average one bedroom apartment will cost $900 per month, while a Monterey rental of the same size will run at about $1,500. Drive up the coast to Santa Cruz and the cost quickly approaches $1,900.

The situation has become so dire that New Leaf Community Markets recently announced a bump in pay for all employees.

On Thursday at 6:00 p.m. we’ll show you how skyrocketing rental prices are hurting everyone.