San Diego rent report, September 2026
20% of the 13,258 San Diego County rental listings we followed from Sep 8 to Sep 30, 2026, cut their asking price, by a median of 4.2%. Figures cover Sep 8 to Sep 30, 2026.
Are San Diego rents being cut this month?
Some are. From Sep 8 to Sep 30, 2026, 2,669 of the 13,258 San Diego County rental listings we followed (20%) lowered their asking price at least once. Among those 2,669 listings, the median cut was 4.2% of the asking price before the cut, or $125 a month. In the 3 complete seven-day periods that touch September, the share ran from 9% to 10%, out of 7,966 to 8,939 listings followed in each. These are cuts on listings that were up during the month. They are not a measure of what rents are overall or where they are heading.
| Week | Followed | Cut | Share | Median cut |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 8 to Sep 14 | 7,966 | 833 | 10% | 3.8% |
| Sep 15 to Sep 21 | 8,939 | 882 | 10% | 3.7% |
| Sep 22 to Sep 28 | 8,912 | 828 | 9% | 3.6% |
San Diego County rental listings, seven-day periods from Sep 8, 2026. The period still running is left out.
Which ZIPs cut the most?
Among the 73 San Diego County ZIPs with at least 30 listings followed from Sep 8 to Sep 30, 2026, the highest shares cutting were in 92173 (San Ysidro), where 11 of 32 listings cut (34%); 92120 (Del Cerro / Allied Gardens), where 29 of 86 listings cut (34%); and 92083 (Vista), where 32 of 102 listings cut (31%). The table lists the ten highest. A ZIP counts the listings that were up in it at any point in the window and the ones among them that lowered their asking price in it. ZIPs with fewer listings are left out because a few cuts would swing their share.
| ZIP | Area | Followed | Cut | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 92173 | San Ysidro | 32 | 11 | 34% |
| 92120 | Del Cerro / Allied Gardens | 86 | 29 | 34% |
| 92083 | Vista | 102 | 32 | 31% |
| 91915 | Eastlake / Chula Vista | 78 | 23 | 29% |
| 92027 | Escondido | 77 | 22 | 29% |
| 92113 | Logan Heights / Barrio Logan | 199 | 56 | 28% |
| 92129 | Rancho Penasquitos | 176 | 49 | 28% |
| 91911 | Chula Vista | 133 | 37 | 28% |
| 91914 | Eastlake / Chula Vista | 34 | 9 | 26% |
| 92103 | Hillcrest / Mission Hills | 484 | 118 | 24% |
Sep 8 to Sep 30, 2026. ZIPs with 30 or more listings followed in the window.
How long do listings sit before a cut?
The share of listings that have cut rises with the days a listing has been shown on Zillow and peaks at 61 to 90 days, where 34% of 514 listings had cut, with a median total cut of 5.0%. In the first week it is 12% of 1,904. Among listings shown 31 to 60 days, the median further time up was 28 days. These shares come from 7,790 rental listings scored up to Oct 30, 2026, San Diego County plus ZIPs our users browse, and Zillow's day count restarts when a listing is relisted.
| Days shown on Zillow | Listings | Have cut | Median cut |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 to 7 days | 1,904 | 12% | 4.1% |
| 8 to 14 days | 1,140 | 16% | 4.8% |
| 15 to 30 days | 1,761 | 24% | 4.3% |
| 31 to 60 days | 1,566 | 30% | 5.0% |
| 61 to 90 days | 514 | 34% | 5.0% |
| over 90 days | 905 | 22% | 5.9% |
Fitted Oct 30, 2026 from 7,790 listings, 1,670 of them cut by the day we scored them. "Have cut" counts cuts in our records; median cut is the total drop from the first asking price among listings that cut.
What does this mean for a renter?
These figures describe listings, not any one landlord. A listing that has been up for weeks belongs to the group where cuts are most common, and a listing posted this week belongs to the group where they are least common. lowball.rent/check shows how long a single listing has really been up, including time before a relist, the cuts it has already taken, and what similar listings nearby are asking. How to negotiate rent covers when renters negotiate, how much lower they offer, and what they offer besides money.
How is this measured?
We pull the San Diego County rental listings on Zillow across the 81 county ZIPs on a nightly schedule: 28 pulls from Sep 8, 2026 to Oct 30, 2026, and a missed night is filled from the next pull. A cut is a lower asking price on the same listing, dated by the listing's own price history when Zillow gives a date, else by the night we first saw the new price; the same change reported twice counts once. A listing is counted in a period when it was up at any point in it. The weekly chart uses complete seven-day periods counted from Sep 8. Asking prices are not rents signed, so this is not a measure of rent levels, and nothing here is a forecast.
Cite this: Lowball, San Diego rent report, September 2026, lowball.rent/rent-report/2026-09/
Built 2026-10-31 from San Diego County listings followed 2026-09-08 to 2026-10-30. Age figures fitted 2026-10-30. These figures describe listings as they are, not where rents will go. Lowball is an independent product and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Zillow Group, Inc.