Some of Orange County’s most affordable cities had the biggest rent hikes over the summer, according to a new report by apartment tracker Real Answers.

Stanton – once Orange County’s most affordable town – saw asking rents for a vacant unit in a large apartment complex jump 8 percent in the past year. This summer, asking rents in Stanton hit $1,626 a month, vs. $1,304 a month four years ago.

Brea, Fountain Valley and Cypress – three other towns with below-average lease rates – saw rents increase year over year by 6.9 percent to 7.4 percent. Rents there this summer averaged $1,754 a month, $1,801 a month and $1,741 a month, respectively.

Huntington Beach, already among Orange County’s high-rent cities, had the county’s second biggest rent hike this summer, with average asking rents up 7.5 percent to $2,011 a month.

The countywide average during the summer hit an all-time high of $1,965 a month, up 5.2 percent from the summer of 2015.

A drop in vacancies helped drive up rents. Real Answers reported the countywide vacancy rate at 3.4 percent, the lowest in 10 years.

The Real Answers report is at least the third out this month documenting apartment rents in the county. It also had the highest monthly rent average.

MPF Research reported a countywide average of $1,896 a month this summer; Reis Inc., in a separate survey, reported that asking apartment rents here averaged $1,781 a month.

Real Answers rent reports tend to skew higher because it only includes the largest apartment buildings, ranging from 90 to 1,750 units apiece. Larger complexes tend to have more amenities and higher rents.

By comparison, Reis’ survey includes buildings of 20 or more units, while the average number of units in complexes surveyed by MPF was 190.

Although the surveys varied, all three apartment trackers showed the same trend, with rents hitting all-time highs and ultra-low vacancy rates.

Real Answers’ survey included nearly 139,000 apartments, or roughly a third of all rentals in the county, U.S. Census figures show.

The firm’s summer rent report showed landlords are seeking higher lease rates in all 23 cities included, with asking rents up $52 to $141 a month from last year’s rates.

Newport Beach continues to have the county’s highest apartment rents. Landlords last summer were seeking an average of $2,513 a month, up 4.8 percent or $116 a month from a year earlier. Newport monthly rents climbed $600 over the past six years.

The next priciest cities all have asking rents topping $2,000 a month: Irvine (average, $2,231), Aliso Viejo ($2,059), Huntington Beach ($2,011) and Costa Mesa ($2,007).

The most economical cities are Buena Park ($1,523), La Habra ($1,605), Stanton ($1,626) and Garden Grove ($1,627).

Even tiny studio apartments are pricey. The average rent for an Orange County studio was $1,548 a month this summer, Real Answers reported. To put that into perspective, you need an annual income of nearly $62,000 to afford that average big-complex studio (meaning that you pay no more than 30 percent of your gross income on rent).

Studios also had the biggest rent hikes, with lease rates up 7.7 percent from a year earlier. And they had the second-highest rent per square foot at $2.91 per foot.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3392087&forum_id=2#31681392)

who the fuck are all these people renting?

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3392087&forum_id=2#31681493)

Renters in Newps and Laguna Beach are always rich kids with do-nothing jobs. I have friends who rent on the peninsula in newport w/ <50k/yr jobs. Otherwise, if you can get three of your bros to live with you it's really not prohibitively expensive.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3392087&forum_id=2#31681519)

That second story balcony is my domain.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3392087&forum_id=2#31681665)

Also, to further pique your nostalgia, I saw at least 3 objective 10s at the Barrington starbucks this morning ungggggh

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3392087&forum_id=2#31681704)

Check out Buffalo Club in SM if you haven't been yet

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3392087&forum_id=2#31681845)

did you shop at Irvine Spectrum? South Coast Plaza?

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3392087&forum_id=2#31681698)

I prefer the Spectrum for casual shopping/dinner...South Coast isn't as walkable. Fashion Island has some great high-er brow dinner spots/shopping, I head there when I can.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3392087&forum_id=2#31681726)

Disclaimer, I haven't spent much time in Fountain Valley/Orange...but they do seem nice as well. Just obviously give Anaheim a wide berth.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3392087&forum_id=2#31681760)

Costa Mesa isn't bad because of the Mexis, it's bad because you sometimes find yourself around this:

http://www.ocweekly.com/news/white-power-with-a-lisp-6402866

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3392087&forum_id=2#31681827)

Everywhere you go out on the weekends to eat/drink is expensive as shit.

At least in Orange County there's not enough nightlife/activities to blow money, and everything is close. You can live in Mission Viejo in a 1.5k studio and get to Laguna & Newport in about 20 mins.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3392087&forum_id=2#31681570)

The game's a little different than NYC/SF/LA, but everyone is pretty uneducated, some girls jump at the chance to bed an Esq.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3392087&forum_id=2#31681800)

I was a little further south @ St Margarets/JS/S Margarita

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3392087&forum_id=2#31681899)

Mastros Ocean Bar is hilarious on a thursday, old rich guys (60+) leaving with 20yr/olds FMA

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3392087&forum_id=2#31681950)

There's almost nothing to do and most establishments close down around 9 or 10 pm. It's a pretty awesome place for a family though.

The biggest problem is jobs and I think that's what has kept house prices at reasonable levels. If you don't work in Irvine, you pretty much have to commute to LA.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3392087&forum_id=2#31688329)

That's an apt moniker you have for someone baffled by finance.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3392087&forum_id=2#31691378)