In January, U.S. median rents dropped (-0.3%)
for sixth straight month
SANTA
CLARA, Calif., Feb. 22,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Rents fell in January for the
sixth month in a row, with year-over-year prices down -0.3%,
according to the monthly Realtor.com® Rental Report
released today. That's providing some relief for renters, though
prices remain higher than pre-pandemic levels amid strong demand
and a limited supply of new units in many markets.
In January, the median asking rent for 0-2 bedroom units in the
50 largest metros declined to $1,712,
down $5 from the previous January and
$46 below its August 2022 high. Following this trend, a recent
Realtor.com® Avail Landlord & Renter Survey
found that the percentage of landlords planning to raise rents in
the next 12 months declined in recent quarters. Still, prices are
18.3% higher than they were four years ago. Median rents were mixed
across unit sizes. Regionally, some big Western metro markets began
to rebound while supply of new multifamily housing units
outstripped demand in the South, pushing down prices.
"Rental prices are declining, especially in places where new
units are entering the market, but there's still plenty of demand
driven by the large population of renters, including potential
first-time homebuyers who remain on the sidelines for now," said
Danielle Hale, Chief Economist at
Realtor.com®. "Looking forward,
Realtor.com® anticipates the rental market to
decline only slightly in 2024, as an increase in the supply of new
units is balanced out by continued enthusiasm for renting as a more
affordable alternative to purchasing."
January 2024 Rental Metrics by
Unit Size – National
Unit
Size
|
Median
Rent
|
Rent
YoY
|
Rent Change - 4
years
|
Overall
|
$1,712
|
-0.3 %
|
18.3 %
|
Studio
|
$1,434
|
-1.0 %
|
11.9 %
|
1-bed
|
$1,591
|
0.1 %
|
17.9 %
|
2-bed
|
$1,892
|
-0.6 %
|
20.4 %
|
Studios saw largest rent declines
The median asking
rent for studios fell by -1.0% to $1,434, which is down -3.8% from its October 2022 peak but still 11.9% higher than
four years ago. Asking rents for two-bedroom units declined by
-0.6% to $1,892. Those larger units
still saw the highest growth in rent prices over the past four
years, with an increase of $321
(20.4%). Meanwhile, asking rents for one-bedroom units rebounded
after declining since July 2023,
increasing by 0.1% year over year to $1,591 in January. Demand for one-bedroom units
may be fueled by the perception that they're a sweet spot in the
market: more spacious than a studio and more affordable than a
two-bedroom unit.
Big Western Metros started to see rebound
In
January 2024, the median rent in the
West fell by -0.3% from a year ago, led by declines in areas
including Phoenix (-4.0%),
Riverside, Calif. (-2.6%) and
Las Vegas (-1.8%). But rents
rebounded in some big metros, with Los
Angeles (0.2%) and Seattle
(1.3%) showing year-over-year increases following eight straight
months of decline. With home prices still high and mortgage rates
expected to remain elevated in the short term, many first-time
buyers are choosing instead to rent. Rents are rising faster in big
Northeastern metros such as New
York (2.3%) and Boston
(2.7%), where labor markets are strong and there's slow growth in
new housing stock, putting upward pressure on rents.
Rents grow in Midwest markets, drop in the
South
Asking rents in the Midwest rose by 0.2% in January,
bolstered by markets such as Chicago (4.2%), Indianapolis (3.5%) and Kansas City, Mo. (3.1%). These markets are
enjoying low unemployment, which stokes rental demand, and they
remain affordable in comparison with other parts of the country.
Chicago's median rent of
$1,852 is almost $1,000 less than big-city counterparts
New York ($2,844) and Los
Angeles ($2,829). Meanwhile,
the median asking rent fell by 1.2% in the South, led by
year-over-year declines in Memphis,
Tenn. (-5.5%), Atlanta
(-3.8%), Austin, Texas (-3.6%).
St. Louis, Mo. (-3.6%) and
Miami (-3.4%). Unemployment in the
South is also low, but the supply of new multifamily housing is
growing, pushing down rental prices.
Rental Data – 50 Largest Metropolitan Areas – January 2024
Metro
|
Median Rent (0-2
Bedrooms)
|
YOY (0-2
Bedrooms)
|
Atlanta-Sandy
Springs-Roswell, GA
|
$1,619
|
-3.8 %
|
Austin-Round Rock,
TX
|
$1,547
|
-3.6 %
|
Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD
|
$1,790
|
-0.6 %
|
Birmingham-Hoover,
AL
|
$1,245
|
-0.8 %
|
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH
|
$2,981
|
2.7 %
|
Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, NY
|
NA
|
NA
|
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC
|
$1,542
|
-0.1 %
|
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI
|
$1,852
|
4.2 %
|
Cincinnati,
OH-KY-IN
|
$1,318
|
1.4 %
|
Cleveland-Elyria,
OH
|
$1,217
|
-2.0 %
|
Columbus, OH
|
$1,178
|
-2.5 %
|
Dallas-Fort
Worth-Arlington, TX
|
$1,505
|
-1.0 %
|
Denver-Aurora-Lakewood,
CO
|
$1,922
|
0.3 %
|
Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI
|
$1,308
|
-0.3 %
|
Hartford-West
Hartford-East Hartford, CT
|
NA
|
NA
|
Houston-The
Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX
|
$1,394
|
2.8 %
|
Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN
|
$1,288
|
3.5 %
|
Jacksonville,
FL
|
$1,534
|
-2.2 %
|
Kansas City,
MO-KS
|
$1,318
|
3.1 %
|
Las
Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV
|
$1,489
|
-1.8 %
|
Los Angeles-Long
Beach-Anaheim, CA
|
$2,829
|
0.2 %
|
Louisville/Jefferson
County, KY-IN
|
$1,234
|
2.7 %
|
Memphis,
TN-MS-AR
|
$1,247
|
-5.5 %
|
Miami-Fort
Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL
|
$2,373
|
-3.4 %
|
Milwaukee-Waukesha-West
Allis, WI
|
$1,574
|
-0.9 %
|
Minneapolis-St.
Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI
|
$1,491
|
-0.4 %
|
Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin,
TN
|
$1,613
|
-2.3 %
|
New Orleans-Metairie,
LA
|
NA
|
NA
|
New York-Newark-Jersey
City, NY-NJ-PA
|
$2,844
|
2.3 %
|
Oklahoma City,
OK
|
$988
|
2.2 %
|
Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL
|
$1,682
|
-1.9 %
|
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington,
PA-NJ-DE-MD
|
$1,780
|
-2.0 %
|
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ
|
$1,550
|
-4.0 %
|
Pittsburgh,
PA
|
$1,421
|
1.1 %
|
Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA
|
$1,656
|
-0.7 %
|
Providence-Warwick,
RI-MA
|
NA
|
NA
|
Raleigh, NC
|
$1,529
|
-1.5 %
|
Richmond, VA
|
$1,492
|
-0.1 %
|
Riverside-San
Bernardino-Ontario, CA
|
$2,174
|
-2.6 %
|
Rochester,
NY
|
NA
|
NA
|
Sacramento–Roseville–Arden-Arcade, CA
|
$1,844
|
0.9 %
|
San Antonio-New
Braunfels, TX
|
$1,275
|
1.0 %
|
San Diego-Carlsbad,
CA
|
$2,811
|
1.1 %
|
San
Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA
|
$2,837
|
-0.6 %
|
San
Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA
|
$3,217
|
2.9 %
|
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA
|
$2,012
|
1.3 %
|
St. Louis,
MO-IL
|
$1,295
|
-3.6 %
|
Tampa-St.
Petersburg-Clearwater, FL
|
$1,740
|
-1.1 %
|
Virginia
Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC
|
$1,508
|
-0.4 %
|
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria,DC-VA-MD-WV
|
$2,194
|
1.9 %
|
Methodology
Rental data as of January 2024 for studio, 1-bedroom, or 2-bedroom
units advertised as for-rent on Realtor.com®.
Rental units include apartments as well as private rentals (condos,
townhomes, single-family homes). We use rental sources that
reliably report data each month within the top 50 largest
metropolitan areas. Realtor.com® began publishing
regular monthly rental trends reports in October 2020 with data history stretching back to
March 2019.
With the release of its January
2024 rent report, Realtor.com®
incorporated a new and improved methodology for capturing and
reporting more comprehensive rental listing trends and metrics. The
new methodology is expected to yield a cleaner, more representative
and more consistent measurement of rental listings and trends at
both the national and local level. The methodology has been
adjusted to better represent the true cost of primary housing for
renters. Most areas across the country will see minor changes with
a smaller handful of areas seeing larger updates. As a result of
these changes, the rental data released since January 2024 will not be directly comparable with
previous releases and Realtor.com® economics blog
posts. However, future data releases, including historical data,
will consistently apply the new methodology.
About
Realtor.com®
Realtor.com® is an
open real estate marketplace built for everyone.
Realtor.com® pioneered the world of digital real
estate more than 25 years ago. Today, through its website and
mobile apps, Realtor.com® is a trusted guide for
consumers, empowering more people to find their way home by
breaking down barriers, helping them make the right connections,
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Realtor.com® is operated by News Corp [Nasdaq:
NWS, NWSA] [ASX: NWS, NWSLV] subsidiary Move, Inc. For more
information, visit Realtor.com®.
Media contact:
Sara Wiskerchen,
press@realtor.com
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