For more than 10 years, BAE Urban Economics has administered the annual Davis Apartment Vacancy and Rental Rate Survey on behalf of UC Davis Student Housing and Dining Services, which is in its 50^th annual iteration.  The results, recently reported by the Davis Vanguard, highlight a notable shift in the Davis rental housing market, including the first decline in average rents in more than a decade.

Key Findings from the 2025 Survey

• Average Rent Declined: The blended average monthly rent for market-rate apartments in Davis decreased 1.8%, falling from $2,762 in fall 2024 to $2,711 in fall 2025.

• Vacancy Rate: The blended vacancy rate across all rental types was 3.5%, slightly below the 4.0% reported in the prior year.

• Survey Coverage: Responses were collected from 111 apartment complexes and property management companies, representing 10,917 rental units—approximately 84% of the Davis multifamily housing stock.

Detailed Rent and Vacancy Trends

• Unit-Leased Apartments: Weighted average rents for apartments leased by the unit declined 4.8%. Two-bedroom units averaged $2,303 per month.
• Bed-Leased Apartments: Rents for bed-leased units increased modestly (+4.7%), reflecting changes in occupancy patterns.
• Rent Adjustments: 51% of survey respondents reported rent decreases in 2025, compared to 30% in 2024.

Supply Conditions and Leasing Incentives

• Leasing Incentives: 59 apartment complexes offered move-in incentives in 2025—approximately 35% more than in 2024.
• On-Campus Housing Growth: Since 2017, UC Davis has added more than 6,260 new apartment and residence hall beds. Approximately 41% of Davis-based students now live on campus, up from roughly 29% a decade ago.

Project Impact

The 2025 survey results mark a meaningful milestone in the Davis rental market. Through rigorous data collection and analysis, BAE Urban Economics provided UC Davis and community stakeholders with comprehensive, market-wide insights. The findings demonstrate that sustained housing supply expansion, particularly new on-campus housing coupled with robust market rate development in the community, is contributing to improved market balance and rent stabilization throughout the broader Davis community.

San Francisco, like many North American cities, is pursuing new strategies to revitalize its Downtown amid persistent office vacancies, including creating new tools to incentivize housing production.  In support of these efforts, BAE prepared a technical and financial analysis to support the formulation and adoption of the City and County of San Francisco’s Downtown Revitalization and Economic Recovery District, signed into law by Mayor Daniel Lurie on February 12, 2026.

Enabled by Assembly Bill 2488, the Revitalization District provides property tax incentives to encourage the conversion of vacant and underutilized Downtown office and commercial buildings into housing across portions of the Market Street corridor, the Financial District, Union Square, the East Cut, Rincon Hill, and Yerba Buena.

For this District Financing Plan, BAE developed a data-driven methodology to identify candidate buildings and estimate the potential scale of conversion activity, including the range of commercial square footage and housing units that could result. The team also considered development economics, projected 30-year property tax increment, and prepared a comprehensive fiscal impact analysis assessing changes in City General Fund revenues and service costs.

The work provided City decision-makers with a clear understanding of the economic and fiscal implications of advancing large-scale Downtown housing conversions as part of San Francisco’s long-term revitalization strategy.

In November 2024, the Urban Land Institute (ULI) convened an Advisory Services Panel to support revitalization of Buffalo’s historic Jefferson Avenue Corridor.  Sherry Okun-Rudnak, Principal at BAE Urban Economics, served as a panelist, contributing strategic economic insight and implementation guidance to help align investment with community priorities.

Following an intensive week of engagement with more than 90 residents, business owners, and civic leaders, the panel concluded that the corridor’s core challenge was not a lack of funding, but a lack of coordination and shared leadership.  The panel recommended a framework centered on strategic connectivity, governance, and communications.

One year later, ULI reports tangible progress is underway.  Local leaders have launched the Jefferson Renaissance Initiative to coordinate corridor-wide revitalization efforts and pursue nonprofit status, startup capital, and a development-ready property database.  In parallel, private stakeholders and business owners have advanced the Buffalo Black Business District Initiative, building momentum toward a more vibrant, community-led commercial corridor.

BAE is pleased to announce that its project for the City of Redondo Beach, the "Artesia & Aviation Corridors Area Plan" has won the 2022 APA Los Angeles Section Economic Planning + Development Award.  BAE served as the Land Use Economist on PlaceWorks' team, along with Fehr & Peers, who provided transportation planning.  Congratulations to our client and team for this victory! 

BAE's client, the City of Portland, OR is in the news for its inclusionary housing policy. The City retained BAE to evaluate the extent to which the policy impacts development feasibility and identify methods for promoting affordable housing growth.  Read more here: https://www.opb.org/article/2023/07/13/affordable-housing-portland/

BAE's client, the City of Portland, OR is in the news for its discussions around the impacts of infrastructure costs on housing development.  The City is looking at all of its mandated fees and requirements associated with housing development to identify those that can be adjusted to make housing more affordable to build.  You can read more here: https://bikeportland.org/2023/07/27/a-revealing-exchange-about-funding-from-city-council-work-session-377616

Watch the Council Housing Production Work Session here:  https://www.portland.gov/council-clerk/events/2023/7/25/housing-production-work-session

 See BAE's findings here:  https://www.portland.gov/phb/documents/ih-calibration-study-meeting-7-findings-slide-deck/download

BAE's client, the Town of Truckee, CA is in the news for working to create a Below Market Rate (BMR) Housing Program to help create more affordable housing units within its boundaries in north Lake Tahoe.  BAE has assisted the Town in working on housing issues in a variety of ways over the years, including evaluating seasonal housing needs, potential housing policies and programs, and the economic evaluation of specific housing projects.  The article can be found at this link:  https://www.sierrasun.com/news/a-look-ahead-at-housing-in-the-truckee-area/

BAE's client, the City of Antioch, CA is in the news for creating flexibility to allow housing on underutilized commercial sites.  BAE assisted the City in identifying the potential sites and estimating the amount of new housing that the sites could accommodate.  The article can be found at this link: https://therealdeal.com/sanfrancisco/2022/03/17/east-bay-city-considers-rezoning-underused-commercial-properties-for-housing/