2026 is a pretty good year for renters in Davis. The city’s vacancy rate has continued to grow, to around 10 percent, says real estate professional Kit Boschken on today’s Davisville. Rents are down from last year. Parts of the market are shifting, she adds— students are less interested in sharing a large house as a place to live, and students coming out of campus housing want leases that start in July or mid-June, instead of the Davis standard of Sept. 1.

“Next year we may be lowering rents a little bit again,” she says during today’s program. “I think we’re equaling out and trying to figure out where rents fall in this town, with the university having built a lot, and now [it] has housing for freshmen and sophomores. That really affects the Davis community too.”

As for single-family houses, prices are up about 4 percent from last year and the median price has hit about $915,000, says Steve Boschken. “Over a third of our properties in Davis are selling for a million or more, which obviously makes it very challenging for younger families, younger people, to get into a home,” he says. About 40 homes in Davis are below $700,000.

Steve and Kit Boschken are real estate brokers with many years of experience in Davis. I invite them onto Davisville about once a year, and today we talk about what they see in the Davis housing market as of summer 2026.

Today’s topics: hot weather issues, sharpshooter update, pruning a phlox, dealing with a sudden sun increase, lavender, and more.