For many San Diegans, finding a place they can actually afford has become a full-time struggle, with housing costs forcing difficult decisions even among those living in designated affordable housing complexes.

Devin Newcomb, a Hillcrest resident, shared he pays just over $1,400 a month for an apartment in an affordable housing complex—the lowest rent he could find in the area.

“The places that we were looking at [were] like $2,500 a month, you know, close to $3,000, so this was definitely a nice change of pace,” Newcomb said.

Stephen Russell is President and CEO of the San Diego Housing Federation, when CBS 8 asked how affordability when it comes to housing has changed over the past couple of years locally he said, “it’s interesting because yes we have new buildings coming in and yes those are higher rents but what’s had an impact in folks moving out of older buildings, less desirable buildings and moving into newer ones and actually flattening out the rents in this area.”

Russell said it’s unclear if there’s been a decrease in rents, but points out they have not seen an increase.

Meanwhile, San Diego County launched a dashboard that tracks affordable housing inventory. The tool shows units under construction through those already completed.

Russell notes that more information is better, but cautions that the dashboard is not extensive enough to cover only affordable housing units that are financed in part by the County of San Diego. He gave an example that if something was done by another city, including the City of San Diego, then it may not, or not show up in the inventory at all.

“So to really be useful, I think that inventory needs to be expanded in the entire region, and then maintained. How well they maintain it is another question,” Russell said.

Meanwhile, research from the UC Policy Lab reveals California’s high cost of living is driving residents out of state. Californians who leave are about 50 percent more likely to own a home within seven years.

“What we’re seeing is that middle-income trench leaving because they want to be able to buy a home they want to be able to raise their kids in something other than an apartment,” Russell said.

Russell also noted that many San Diegans may not realize they qualify for affordable housing programs.

To view the county-restricted affordable housing map, visit experience.arcgis.com