Manteca apartment rents increased a record 13.7 percent in 2014.

That is a bigger jump than for resale housing as the average closed escrow last year rose 11.5 percent over 2013.

The annual Manteca Bulletin apartment rent survey showed that the priciest — as well as the apartments loaded with the most amenities — was once again Paseo Villas on Atherton Drive.

One bedroom and one bathroom apartments with 727-square feet at Paseo are commanding $1,185 a month or $100 more than the nearest competitor which is Laurel Glenn on Button Avenue. Laurel Glenn’s one bedroom and one bathroom floor plan recorded the biggest jump percentagewise for all apartments going up 24 percent or $210 a month.

Paseo’s three bedroom and two bathroom units with 1,217 square feet that includes a garage are renting for $1,670 a month.

Paseo  Villas — a  300-unit “lifestyle” complex opened in 2006 — is the last at-market apartment complex to be built in Manteca. Juniper Apartments east of Paseo Villas as well as the senior apartment complex on North Main Street behind Dribble’s Car Wash are newer but have subsidized rents.

The renters of the largest Paseo unit could actually afford the monthly mortgage payment on a median priced Manteca home of $272,000. A typical home has a $1,532 a month mortgage and mortgage premium insurance payment after 5 percent down or $148 less than renting the apartment. And that is before deducting interested payments from income tax.

That lifestyle includes 9-foot high ceilings with crown molding, full-size in-apartment washers and dryers, fireplaces, movie theater, computer room, large pool, basketball court, granite counter tops and an array of other amenities.

Many renters can afford to rent — or even own —a traditional single family home in Manteca or even but chose not to preferring the lifestyle and not having to worry about upkeep.

While the five complexes with one bedroom and one  bathroom units in the survey experienced a 14.2 percent jump in average rents with the lowest now being Stonegate at $865 a month, the biggest jump was seen in the monthly rents of two bedroom and one bathroom units that increased 22.5 percent last year.

Topping the list is Laurel Glenn at $1,185 a month.

Two bedroom and two bathroom units increased 10.1 percent with Union North being the highest at $1,175.

The smallest jump in rents was in the three bedrooms and two bathroom categories that saw a 9.3 percent jump.

On average you will pay $283 more a month to rent an apartment in one bedroom and one bathroom apartment in Manteca compared in Modesto and $293 more a month compared to Modesto. But compared to the San Jose average Manteca is a bargain. One bedroom apartments go for an average $2,154  or almost 120 percent more per month.

It is $318 more expensive on average to rent a one bedroom apartment in Manteca than Stockton and $287 more expensive for a two bedroom. San Jose two bedrooms average $2,701 a month.



Manteca is among

lowest when it comes

to apartment units

When it comes to the region, Manteca’s 19.2 percent of multi-family units in communities over 20,000 is one of the lowest topped only by Tracy at 17.56 percent. That is lower than the United States at 31.8 percent, California at 38.0 percent, Stockton at 33.7 percent, and Lodi at 35.2 percent.

A study issued in 2013ar by economists at the University of Pacific’s Business Forecasting Center credited the higher percentage of single family homes in Manteca and Tracy to the “commute-centric southern San Joaquin County.”

And, according to previous studies by the forecasting center, renters are paying the price in Manteca.

For-rent surveys of available apartments show rents in Manteca, Lathrop, and Ripon tend to be higher than the rest of San Joaquin County. The forecast center noted that in 2009 the median gross monthly rent that includes water, sewer, and electricity was $998 in San Joaquin County. US Census data shows that’s $28 higher than in Sacramento County and $156 higher than the United States as a whole but $57 lower than the California average.

While Manteca has a big demand for more apartments, developers have noted the high fees for building in California make it tough to financially pencil such projects out.