San Diego rental market · Crestmont Realty
Rent out your San Diego house, or sell it?
The question we hear every week, answered the only way it can be: with your neighborhood's current numbers and the math that turns them into a decision.
Data as of July 2026 · more than 40 San Diego neighborhoods · updated monthly · current numbers always at rentalmarkets.crestmontrealty.com
01 · What it rents for
What would your house rent for right now?
Start with the number everything else depends on. Median asking rents for 3-bedroom single-family homes, July 2026.
| Neighborhood | Median 3BR rent | vs. last year |
|---|---|---|
| La Jolla / Torrey Pines | $6,470 | +7.6% |
| Coronado | $5,909 | +6.0% |
| Point Loma | $5,634 | +9.1% |
| Del Mar | $5,567 | +4.7% |
| Pacific Beach | $5,481 | +5.6% |
| Hillcrest / Bankers Hill / Mission Hills | $5,232 | +9.6% |
| Carmel Valley | $5,102 | +1.6% |
Table 1 · Highest-rent submarkets, 3BR SFR, July 2026 · Source: Crestmont Realty rental market data
| Neighborhood | Median 3BR rent | vs. last year |
|---|---|---|
| El Cajon / La Mesa | $3,596 | -3.8% |
| Golden Hill | $3,589 | -8.6% |
| Spring Valley | $3,550 | -0.1% |
| Southeast San Diego | $3,482 | +0.1% |
| City Heights | $3,383 | +1.1% |
| National City | $3,160 | -8.3% |
| Logan Heights | $3,081 | +0.4% |
Table 2 · Most affordable submarkets, 3BR SFR, July 2026 · Source: Crestmont Realty rental market data
Two things stand out. The spread between the top and bottom of the county is more than $3,300 a month for the same bedroom count, so metro averages tell you very little about your house. And the market is moving in different directions at once: Hillcrest and Point Loma are up roughly 9% year over year while National City and Golden Hill have given back 8%. Which direction your neighborhood is moving matters as much as the number itself.
02 · The four numbers
The four numbers that make the decision
- Market rent for your neighborhood and property type (tables above, or your neighborhood's page on our data site).
- Your monthly carry: mortgage payment, property tax, insurance, and a maintenance reserve (a common planning figure is 1% of home value per year).
- Your walk-away equity: what the house nets after selling costs, commonly estimated at 6 to 8 percent all-in.
- Your mortgage rate, because a low locked rate is an asset that goes with the house.
03 · The math
The break-even math, worked through
Illustrative numbers: a house in the El Cajon / La Mesa area valued at about $850,000, a $3,000 monthly payment (principal, interest, tax, insurance) on a 3.1% loan from 2021, renting near that area's going rate of roughly $3,600 (current figure in Table 2).
Renting it: market rent roughly $3,600. Subtract roughly 8% for management, a maintenance reserve of about $700 a month at this home value, and one month of vacancy per two-year tenancy (about $150 monthly averaged). Net operating cash before the mortgage: roughly $2,450. Against a $3,000 payment, that is about $550 a month out of pocket, while roughly $1,400 of each payment goes to principal. You are paying $550 to bank $1,400 in equity monthly, plus appreciation, plus rent growth over time.
Selling it: $850,000 less roughly 7% in selling costs nets about $790,000 before payoff. Owing $450,000, you walk with about $340,000. The question becomes what that $340,000 earns elsewhere versus the equity build above, and what replacing a 3.1% loan costs if you ever want back in.
These figures show the shape of the math, not your answer. Swap in your rent from the tables, your payment, and your payoff. The pattern for most San Diego owners with pre-2022 rates: low rate plus 3.4% vacancy tilts the math toward holding, and it tilts harder the closer market rent sits to your carry.
04 · When each wins
When selling usually wins
- You need the equity for the next house, and two payments is not workable.
- Your rate is recent and high, so the payment eats the entire rent and more.
- You have lived in the home 2 of the last 5 years and the federal capital gains exclusion (up to $250,000 single / $500,000 married) applies now but phases out after a few years of renting. This one has a clock; talk to a tax professional before letting it run.
- The house needs major systems soon that rent will not recover.
When renting usually wins
- You hold a sub-4% mortgage; that financing cannot be repurchased today.
- Your neighborhood's rent covers most or all of your carry (check the tables).
- You may want the option to return, to San Diego or to the house itself.
- You want the equity working in a supply-constrained coastal market rather than cashed out; county vacancy at 3.4% reflects that constraint directly.
Does being a San Diego landlord pay off, or is it too much hassle?
The honest version: self-managing one rental from a distance is where most owner-landlord stories go wrong, and it is why the reputation exists. The work is real: pricing to the market monthly, screening under California and San Diego rules, maintenance coordination, and rent law that changes session after session. Professional management converts that into a roughly 8% line item in the math above. Whether the trade pays is exactly what the break-even calculation says; for owners with strong rent-to-carry ratios it usually is, and for owners whose numbers barely clear, it usually is not. The numbers decide, which is why this page leads with them.
05 · Your neighborhood
Decide with current numbers, not last year's
Rents move monthly and this page updates with them. Your neighborhood's full picture, rents by bedroom and property type, vacancy, and trend, is on our data site: start at rentalmarkets.crestmontrealty.com and pick your area, from Allied Gardens / San Carlos to Bonita to Bankers Hill.
What your specific house would rent for, given its condition, layout, and street. Free.
The current data behind the tables above, packaged for your area: rents by bedroom and property type, vacancy, and trend. Free.
06 · Quick answers
Quick answers
Is it better to rent out or sell a house in San Diego in 2026?
It depends on four numbers, not a rule of thumb. Market rent for your neighborhood, your monthly carry, your walk-away equity, and your mortgage rate decide it. With county vacancy at 3.4% and the median 3BR house rent at $4,419 as of July 2026, many owners holding a low-rate loan come out ahead renting, and the math on this page shows how to check your own case.
What would my San Diego house rent for in 2026?
The countywide median for a 3-bedroom single-family home is $4,419 as of July 2026, and the neighborhood range runs from about $3,081 in Logan Heights to $6,470 in La Jolla. The tables above place your neighborhood; a property-level rental analysis places your street.
Are San Diego rents going up or down in 2026?
Both, depending on the neighborhood. Countywide 3BR house rents are up 1.2% year over year as of July 2026, with Hillcrest and Point Loma up roughly 9% while National City and Golden Hill are down roughly 8%. Which direction your neighborhood is moving matters as much as the county number.
Rent data: Crestmont Realty San Diego rental market data · July 2026 · updated monthly. Illustrative scenario figures are examples, not advice; consult your tax and financial advisors on sale proceeds and capital gains.