The rental market changes daily and every day there are new places offered for rent. Therefore, it is simply not true that the “good” housing gets taken in the late spring or early summer, or any other time of the year for that matter. The best time to look for housing is whenever you can afford to begin paying rent, coupled with wanting or needing to move. Begin the process by no more than 4 to 6 weeks in advance of your target move date. Most people find housing in under a month, but you may want to build in a little extra time if you are new to this process. Browsing the Rental Market Far in Advance~ Many feel anxious about this process and it makes them feel better if they can just see some rental listings. That's fine; just be aware that if you elect to obtain the listings now but plan to move to Berkeley much later, you will not be able to do much with the information at present. The rental listings will help you to gain a sense of the market and develop a knowledge base of typical rents and amenities. You are likely to find that you can only make use of the rental listings later, when listers begin to advertise availability dates closer to the time when you want to move. Even then, most landlords, and almost all people seeking new roommates, will want to meet you in person before deciding whether or not to select you as a tenant.