Record-high construction of multi-family homes
helps to ease housing shortages
SANTA
CLARA, Calif., May 18, 2023
/PRNewswire/ -- The Realtor.com® April Rental Report
found that the U.S. rental market experienced single-digit growth
for the ninth month in a row after 15 months of slowing. Median
rent across the top 50 metros was up just 0.3% year-over-year, the
lowest growth rate since the onset of the pandemic. The median
asking rent was $1,734, up by
$4 from last month, but down by
$43 from the peak.
"In April, we continued to see rising rent prices and a
moderating growth rate. This is promising news for renters,
suggesting that the pandemic peaks are behind us, and that the
challenging affordability picture may begin to improve," said
Realtor.com® Chief Economist Danielle Hale. "We've seen record-high new
construction occurring in the multi-family space, which is creating
more units, helping to reduce competition and in turn helping to
ease prices."
Affordability improves, but prices are still high
One
major factor contributing to lower rent prices is a significant
increase in multi-family construction. This has helped the vacancy
rate reach its highest level (6.4% in Q1 2023) in two years. As
more new rental properties are added to the market, the vacancy
rate could inch back toward the norms we saw in 2013-2019 (about
7.2%) and would improve affordability for renters. Despite more
available rentals and slowing rent growth, average rent still costs
$348 (25.1%) more than it would have
at this time in 2019.
Save money by staying put
Renters who renew their
lease tend to pay less than those who sign a new lease. A 2022
survey from Avail, a Realtor.com® business, found that
renters signing a new lease reported a price increase of nearly 27%
– about double what people who have been in their rental for 1-2
years experienced (13%). To avoid paying this premium, renters are
renewing leases at record-high levels, contributing to a stickier
CPI Shelter Index.
"Realtor.com® monthly data is based on median asking
rents rather than survey responses, which are used in the CPI
Index, so CPI data lags behind what we're seeing. The data suggest
that easing in the cost of shelter is ahead in future CPI reports.
While this could take until 2024 to play out significantly, it will
be welcome news for renters and for overall inflation," said
Hale.
For more information on what landlords and renters are
experiencing, read the latest Avail quarterly survey.
Rental Data – 50 Largest Metropolitan Areas – April 2023
Metro
|
Median Rent 0-2
bedroom
|
YOY 0-2
bedroom
|
Rent Vacancy
Rate
(2023 Q1)
|
Homeownership
Rate
(2023 Q1)
|
Atlanta-Sandy
Springs-Roswell, Ga.
|
$1,672
|
-1.4 %
|
9.8 %
|
66.6 %
|
Austin-Round Rock,
Texas
|
$1,730
|
-4.8 %
|
7.3 %
|
63.4 %
|
Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, Md.
|
$1,821
|
0.4 %
|
12.8 %
|
72.9 %
|
Birmingham-Hoover,
Ala.
|
$1,233
|
3.6 %
|
11.9 %
|
67.0 %
|
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, Mass.-N.H.
|
$2,842
|
4.2 %
|
2.7 %
|
61.1 %
|
Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, N.Y.
|
$1,230
|
-1.1 %
|
3.8 %
|
72.0 %
|
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, N.C.-S.C.
|
$1,557
|
-2.4 %
|
4.5 %
|
63.4 %
|
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, Ill.-Ind.-Wisc.
|
$1,835
|
0.9 %
|
4.7 %
|
68.8 %
|
Cincinnati,
Ohio,-Ky.-Ind.
|
$1,218
|
9.9 %
|
5.9 %
|
68.4 %
|
Cleveland-Elyria,
Ohio
|
$1,144
|
-3.6 %
|
2.5 %
|
65.0 %
|
Columbus,
Ohio
|
$1,270
|
8.4 %
|
6.4 %
|
59.3 %
|
Dallas-Fort
Worth-Arlington, Texas
|
$1,538
|
-3.1 %
|
10.8 %
|
61.5 %
|
Denver-Aurora-Lakewood,
Colo.
|
$1,957
|
-2.0 %
|
4.1 %
|
69.7 %
|
Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, Mich.
|
$1,390
|
8.9 %
|
8.3 %
|
73.0 %
|
Hartford-West
Hartford-East Hartford, Conn.
|
$1,650
|
-2.1 %
|
5.0 %
|
67.3 %
|
Houston-The
Woodlands-Sugar Land, Texas
|
$1,438
|
3.2 %
|
12.3 %
|
60.9 %
|
Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, Ind.
|
$1,336
|
8.1 %
|
10.9 %
|
69.2 %
|
Jacksonville,
Fla.
|
$1,466
|
-0.4 %
|
7.5 %
|
72.9 %
|
Kansas City,
Mo.-Kan.
|
$1,282
|
3.5 %
|
8.7 %
|
64.3 %
|
Las
Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, Nev.
|
$1,509
|
-5.7 %
|
5.5 %
|
59.1 %
|
Los Angeles-Long
Beach-Anaheim, Calif.
|
$2,875
|
-2.1 %
|
3.5 %
|
46.1 %
|
Louisville/Jefferson
County, Ky.-Ind.
|
$1,218
|
6.0 %
|
1.2 %
|
65.9 %
|
Memphis,
Tenn.-Miss.-Ark.
|
$1,341
|
-2.6 %
|
5.3 %
|
63.1 %
|
Miami-Fort
Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, Fla.
|
$2,503
|
-0.3 %
|
7.0 %
|
55.5 %
|
Milwaukee-Waukesha-West
Allis, Wisc.
|
$1,583
|
6.8 %
|
3.7 %
|
62.6 %
|
Minneapolis-St.
Paul-Bloomington, Minn.-Wisc.
|
$1,515
|
1.8 %
|
10.1 %
|
67.6 %
|
Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin,
Tenn.
|
$1,599
|
-1.7 %
|
9.9 %
|
71.4 %
|
New Orleans-Metairie,
La.
|
$1,270
|
-15.4 %
|
9.6 %
|
60.4 %
|
New York-Newark-Jersey
City, N.Y.-N.J.-Penn.
|
$2,914
|
8.0 %
|
4.1 %
|
50.7 %
|
Oklahoma City,
Okla.
|
$1,014
|
7.0 %
|
9.4 %
|
66.8 %
|
Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Fla.
|
$1,810
|
0.9 %
|
4.5 %
|
65.5 %
|
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington,
Penn.-N.J.-Del.-Md.
|
$1,834
|
3.6 %
|
4.5 %
|
66.5 %
|
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, Ariz.
|
$1,646
|
-5.2 %
|
5.2 %
|
67.5 %
|
Pittsburgh,
Penn.
|
$1,464
|
7.1 %
|
6.8 %
|
75.7 %
|
Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, Ore.-Wash.
|
$1,691
|
-0.1 %
|
5.6 %
|
66.1 %
|
Providence-Warwick,
R.I.-Mass.
|
$1,872
|
1.8 %
|
4.6 %
|
67.8 %
|
Raleigh,
N.C.
|
$1,535
|
-2.2 %
|
10.9 %
|
64.6 %
|
Richmond,
Va.
|
$1,438
|
4.8 %
|
8.6 %
|
66.5 %
|
Riverside-San
Bernardino-Ontario, Calif.
|
$2,123
|
-10.9 %
|
4.9 %
|
70.5 %
|
Rochester,
N.Y.
|
$1,243
|
-3.6 %
|
2.5 %
|
63.9 %
|
Sacramento–Roseville–Arden-Arcade, Calif.
|
$1,871
|
-1.6 %
|
4.6 %
|
65.3 %
|
San Antonio-New
Braunfels, Texas
|
$1,287
|
0.2 %
|
8.2 %
|
68.3 %
|
San Diego-Carlsbad,
Calif.
|
$2,877
|
-1.0 %
|
3.3 %
|
52.5 %
|
San
Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, Calif.
|
$2,829
|
-2.5 %
|
4.7 %
|
58.3 %
|
San
Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif.
|
$3,329
|
3.2 %
|
5.9 %
|
53.3 %
|
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Wash.
|
$2,117
|
-0.2 %
|
3.3 %
|
61.7 %
|
St. Louis,
Mo.-Ill.
|
$1,333
|
5.7 %
|
6.9 %
|
68.8 %
|
Tampa-St.
Petersburg-Clearwater, Fla.
|
$1,776
|
-4.1 %
|
8.7 %
|
61.1 %
|
Virginia
Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, Va.-N.C.
|
$1,464
|
1.8 %
|
6.8 %
|
68.9 %
|
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria,
D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.V.
|
$2,213
|
4.9 %
|
5.5 %
|
64.5 %
|
Methodology
Rental data as of April 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 April 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 April 2023 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®
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open real estate marketplace built for everyone.
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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,
and creating confidence through expert insights and guidance. For
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for business growth, offering consumer connections and branding
solutions that help them succeed in today's on-demand world.
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information, visit Realtor.com®.
Media contact: press@realtor.com
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