About South OC Rentals
Local knowledge. Local leadership.
South OC Rentals was created by Jacob Lawlor, Regional Branch Manager of First Team Real Estate's Mission Viejo and San Clemente offices, to bring current rental listings and deeper local market intelligence together in one place.
Why I created South OC Rentals
I've spent much of my career helping real estate professionals understand Southern Orange County more deeply. Rental decisions deserve that same level of local knowledge.
Most rental websites are very good at showing properties, but tell you very little about the market surrounding them. Finding the property is only part of the decision.
A renter may be comparing a condo in Aliso Viejo with a townhome in Laguna Niguel. A landlord may be trying to understand what actually competes with their property. An agent may know how to write a lease but still want deeper knowledge of the local rental market.
The goal of this site is to make that information easier to find, understand and use.
Local leadership
South Orange County is the focus
As Regional Branch Manager for First Team Real Estate's Mission Viejo and San Clemente offices, Jacob Lawlor oversees more than 100 real estate professionals serving Southern Orange County.
- Developing agents across two South Orange County offices
- Studying local housing markets market by market
- Training and coaching on local market knowledge
- Teaching professionals how to advise clients more clearly
- Helping consumers reach professionals who know the area
- Building education and tools around local research
South OC Rentals grew out of that same idea: better local knowledge leads to better real estate decisions.
The brokerage behind the work
Backed by 50 years of Orange County real estate experience
First Team Real Estate was founded in Orange County in 1976. Fifty years later, the company has grown to more than 2,200 real estate professionals across Southern California while remaining connected to the communities where it began.
1976
50 Years
2,200+
250,000+
For South OC Rentals, that history matters because rental knowledge is not being built in isolation. It sits inside a brokerage organization that has participated in the Southern California housing market for five decades. Longevity is context rather than proof on its own.
South OC rental experience
More than 6,300 local rental representation sides
From 2016 through 2025, First Team Real Estate represented the listing side of 3,211 closed residential leases and the renter side of 3,104 closed residential leases across the 15 South Orange County markets covered by South OC Rentals.
That equals 6,315 landlord and renter representation sides in the local rental market.
3,211
3,104
6,315
15
10 Years
This history does not mean every rental or every transaction is the same. South Orange County contains very different rental markets. It does mean First Team Real Estate agents have participated extensively in the local leasing process from both the landlord and renter sides.
Source: CRMLS/Matrix statistics for closed Residential Lease listings from January 1, 2016 through December 31, 2025 across the 15 South OC Rentals City Markets, filtered for First Team Real Estate participation on the applicable listing or renter representation side. These are historical figures, not a current market measure. A single lease may include participation on both sides, and an individual may have completed more than one lease, so representation sides are not unique people or unique transactions.
Three ways to use the site
What this means for you
Looking for a rental?
Own a rental property?
Want to understand the market better?
Representation
When you want professional help
As Regional Branch Manager, Jacob Lawlor's role is to oversee South OC Rentals, support the local offices and agents behind it, and help ensure consumers have access to knowledgeable real estate professionals. He does not personally handle every inquiry.
When someone wants representation, Jacob Lawlor and First Team Real Estate can help connect them with an appropriate local agent based on the market, property type, location, and type of assistance needed.
Looking for help finding and leasing a property?
Thinking about leasing your property?
Biography
About Jacob
Jacob Lawlor is a licensed California real estate professional, CA DRE #01899247, and serves as Regional Branch Manager for First Team Real Estate's Mission Viejo and San Clemente offices, where he oversees more than 100 real estate professionals serving Southern Orange County.
Much of his work centers on training, coaching and professional development — helping agents build genuine knowledge of the communities and housing markets they serve. That work includes ongoing study of South Orange County housing, from how individual markets differ to what renters and landlords actually weigh when they make a decision.
South OC Rentals is an extension of that broader work: helping people understand Southern Orange County real estate well enough to make better-informed decisions.
Trust
How we approach the market
Current
Rental availability and market information change. Current MLS listings are treated as current information and dated accordingly.
Local
South Orange County is not one uniform rental market. The site studies individual markets, communities, housing types, and local differences.
Verified
Property-specific details such as association rules, lease restrictions, schools, parking rights and fees should be confirmed for the specific property before you rely on them.
Listings shown on this site are current MLS rental listings and do not include every rental available through every source.
Start with the market. Get help when you need it.
Whether you're searching for a rental, preparing to lease a property, or simply trying to understand South Orange County better, South OC Rentals is here to help you make a more informed decision.