SF exurbs lead Bay Area rental cost crisis

The Solano County exurb of Vacaville, once an escape from the expensive rents and home prices of San Francisco and other cities closer to the Bay, is now becoming another housing crisis hotspot. 

In Vacaville, considered an exurb because it is a growing residential area located beyond the suburbs, the average monthly rent for a two-bedroom apartment has more than doubled since 2010 to approximately $2,500 from about $1,200, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. 

Across Solano County, the cities of Vacaville and Vallejo now have the Bay Area’s greatest share of cost-burdened renters. More than 70 percent of renters in both cities spend at least 30 percent of their pre-tax income on housing, far above the regional average of 56 percent of renters and national levels hovering at around 50 percent, the Chronicle reported, citing U.S. Census Bureau data. Over the past five years, Vacaville’s percentage of cost-burdened renters has increased faster than any other Bay Area city. 

The hike in rents in Vacaville comes despite a building blitz in the city. Between 2015 and 2021, developers completed about 2,900 residential units in the city, more than double its state housing target and enough to make it one of the Bay Area’s top housing producers by raw volume. 

The issue is with the type of housing that is being built — mostly higher-end single-family homes. Multifamily housing, including townhomes and small apartment buildings, comprises less than 10 percent of Vacaville’s housing stock.

Cash buyers relocating from pricier Bay Area markets bid up home prices as renters face limited supply and rising rents. The city of Vacaville is also facing projected budget deficits of about $9 million and a hiring freeze for local government. With a dearth of multifamily and below-market-rate housing, younger workers might not be able to make ends meet in the Solano County city.

“These outlying cities really are the next frontier of displacement,” Cristal Gallegos, director of community-led nonprofit Vallejo Housing Justice Coalition, told the Chronicle. “Once the old adage of ‘drive until you qualify [for a mortgage]’ stops applying to the Bay Area, you know you have a serious problem.” — Chris Malone Méndez