The Rent Cafe reports National Apartment Rents Hit a 14-Month Growth Plateau in March Amid Small City Boom.
- The national average rent was $1,371 in March 2018, 2.5 percent higher than this time last year, and up 0.3 percent ($4) month over month, according to data from Yardi Matrix.
- 86 percent of the nation’s biggest 250 cities have seen rents grow in March year over year, in 12 percent of cities rents remained unchanged, while only 2 percent experienced rent drops compared to 2017.
- 29 of the top 30 fastest growing rents are in small cities, including Reno, Tacoma, and Orlando.
- Among the largest U.S. cities, Las Vegas, Denver, and Phoenix had the fastest rising prices in March, while Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Portland the slowest.
National Average
Significant Changes
Highest and Lowest
Methodology
- The report includes cities with populations over 100,000 and a rental stock of at least 2,900 apartments in 50+ unit buildings.
- Large cities are cities with a population of 600,000 people or more, mid-sized cities are cities with a population between 300,000 and 600,000, and small cities are cities with a population of less than 300,000.
- National averages include 130 markets.
In an email, the Rent Cafe confirmed the national average is weighted by population.That is how it should be. Larger cities should factor in more than smaller ones.
Rent inflation and deflation vary widely.
Year-Over-Year Hourly Earnings
On average, rental prices chew up any increase in hourly wages.
Other than studio apartments, rent is rising faster than wages.
Mike “Mish” Shedlock
Glad I don’t rent. The average monthly rent is approaching what I paid in monthly mortgage payments on my 3800sf home when I had a mortgage. And no tax deduction to boot.
And this continual increase (over time) in cost of everything from products and service to labor is why bread no longer cost 10 cents/loaf. Maybe when the robots take over, they can bring back that 10 cents/loft bread!
The whole top 10 is either NYC, Bay Area or Boston. High tech job salaries in Bay Area and Boston. Seattle has had big rent spikes the last 5-6 yrs. Apartments have been a really good investment since 2010.
Got a notice Friday that my rent was going to $675 from $625/month. Yes, I know it’s still cheap, but then I’m on early SSI and a part time job that looks increasingly shaky.