Apartment rental rates are keenly important to one-out of every three American households since the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows that 35.9 percent are renters. In 2018 there were an estimated 1.5 million net new household formations but only 1.2 million added dwelling units as demand for housing grew faster than supply. As a result rents and home values continue to rise.
Unlike homeowners that have either a fixed-rate loan or no loan at all, renters are exposed to a potential increase in rent every time the lease expires. Typical U.S. apartment rents rose 1.6 percent in the 12-months ending August 2019. Apartment List tracks multifamily rents across 785 cities and all 50 states. They use a methodology similar to the Case-Shiller home price index in which rent changes are based on leases on the same unit while home price changes under Case-Shiller are calculated using repeat sales of the same property.
The following table shows the top-40 rent growth rate cities in the U.S. as calculated by Apartment List.
The next table shows the list of the 40 cities with the largest decline in rents in the past 12-months.
Greatest and least two-bedroom rent are shown in the following two tables. The most expensive average two-bedroom apartments in the U.S. are in Marina del Ray, California at $4,719 per month. In comparison, the lowest cost two-bedroom rents are in Aniston, Alabama at $437 – less than 10th the most expensive.
The same rankings for one-bedroom apartments are shown in the following two tables.
The last table shows these data for all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
To find these data for all the 785 U.S. cities tracked in the report click https://www.apartmentlist.com/rentonomics/september-2019-rent-report/
To search apartments available for rent at Apartment List across the country click https://www.apartmentlist.com/
As new supply continues to lag new household formation rates, expect rents and prices to rise across most of the country. That is not true, however, for every city and state. As usual again I invoke the TINSTAANREM Clause — There Is No Such Thing As A National Real Estate Market. The same is true regarding apartment rents which vary by the interaction of supply and demand on a local level.
Ted