California’s renters got a mild breather in 2023. When my trusty spreadsheet looked at ApartmentList’s rent data – a curious mix of landlord listings and Census stats – it’s clear that the Golden State remains a pricey place to be a tenant, even after pandemic-era rent hikes ended last year. The stats track rents in 46 states and the District of Columbia. The modest good news for California tenants is that rents by this measurement fell on average 1% last year to $2,156 after rising 11% in 2022 and 6% in 2021. Average rents fell 2% in 2020, the pandemic’s first year. California was one of 12 states with declining rents last year…
