By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2024-11-23 15:49:55 | Updated at 2024-11-23 18:45:20
3 hours ago
Rental prices across the U.S. are falling as major cities in the Sun Belt continue to add more affordable housing option, a new report found.
According to Realtor.com's October 2024 Rental Report, the median asking rent in the 50 largest metros registered at $1,720, down by $23 from September.
Despite October marking the 15th consecutive month of rent decline, the decrease was a modest $40 lower than peak rent prices from August 2022.
The report noted median rent is still $272 higher than the same time pre-pandemic in 2019, but said that is on par with overall consumer price inflation.
An increase in the number of homes available to rent is key to the plummeting rent prices, according to Realtor.com economist Jiayi Xu.
'Regionally, all four areas saw a significant increase in multifamily completions in 2024, driven by surges in new starts from prior years,' said Xu.
It is a particularly good time to be a renter in Sun Belt cities, which are seeing the steepest decrease in monthly costs.
Cities across the region have built a huge number of apartments since the pandemic, which means supply is now outweighing demand and making it a good time for residents to find a deal.
'The faster growth of rental completions in the South has boosted rental supplies and dampened the typical rental price of homes available in October compared to one year ago,' said Xu.
'The South witnessed the most significant rise in new completions between January and September 2024, with a year-over-year growth rate of 49.1 percent, followed by the Midwest (44.9 percent), West (23.9 percent) and Northeast (7.4 percent).'
Here are the major cities where rent has fallen the most:
Denver, Colorado
Rents for studios to two-bedroom properties dropped 5.6 percent from the year before in the Mile High City. The median rent for those properties was $1,836 in October, according to Realtor.com.
An average of 10,000 new apartments are being constructed in Denver each year. The mountainous city last saw construction of this statue in the 1970's when migration to the state was at an all-time high.
Rents for studios to two-bedroom properties dropped 5.6 percent from the year before in the Mile High City
The region averaged 5,000 new apartments a year until 2011 when the average rocketed up to an astonishing 10,000 a year, The Denver Post reported.
Over the last 12 months, developers have added 21,158 new apartments - double the pace seen last decade and equivalent to about 5 percent of all the existing apartments built in the past 100 years, Cary Bruteig, author of the quarterly report told The Denver Post.
Memphis, Tennessee
Rent fell 5.4 percent from the year before for studios to two-bedroom properties in Memphis. The median rent for those properties was $1,204 in October.
The typical national monthly rent of $1,700 gets a 1,996-square-foot apartment in Memphis - but only 211 square feet in an area of Manhattan, said a report by RentCafe. That is almost ten times smaller.
Rent fell 5.4 percent from the year before for studios to two-bedroom properties in Memphis
Of the top ten zip codes where renters can get the most space for their money, four of them are in Memphis.
In February, Realtor.com reported that the Birthplace of Rock 'n' Roll is one of the top metro areas in the country where it is cheaper to rent than it is to buy property.
Nashville, Tennessee
In Music City, rent decreased 5.2 percent from the year before for properties ranging from studios to two bedrooms. In October, the median rent for those properties was $1,556.
In Music City, rent decreased 5.2 percent from the year before for properties ranging from studios to two bedrooms
A drop in rental prices comes as a much needed relief for the millions that have flocked to the area in recent years.
An estimated 86 people a day moved to the Nashville metro area in 2023, boosting the population to 2.1 million according to United States Census Bureau figures.
Dallas, Texas
The median rent for studios to two-bedroom properties in Dallas was $1,462 in October. That price fell 4.3 percent from the year before.
Texas built a huge number of apartments since the pandemic, which means supply is now outweighing demand and making it a good time for residents to find a deal.
The median rent for studios to two-bedroom properties in Dallas was $1,462 in October
Austin, Texas
Rent for properties ranging from studios to two bedrooms decreased 4.2 percent from the year before in Austin. The median price in October was $1,495.
House prices in Austin boomed during the pandemic, as its sunny climate, expansive state parks and relative affordability attracted an influx of buyers.
The gap between renting and buying was the widest in Austin, Texas, according to Realtor.com.
Rent for properties ranging from studios to two bedrooms decreased 4.2 percent from the year before in Austin
Chicago, Illinois
In the Windy City, rent for studios to two-bedroom properties dropped 4.1 percent from the year before. The median rent for this properties was $1,780 in October.
This is good news for renters as the city previously ranked as one of the country's top metros where it was cheaper to buy a home than rent.
In the Windy City, rent for studios to two bedroom properties dropped 4.1 percent from the year before
San Antonio, Texas
The median rent for studios to two-bedroom properties in San Antonio was $1,250 in October. That price fell 4.1 percent from the year before.
San Antonio has long been known as one of the most impoverished big cities in the America and leaders have been trying to pull it out of its doom loop for decades.
The median rent for studios to two-bedroom properties in San Antonio was $1,250 in October
These efforts have largely involved gentrification - trying to attract big business to improve the labor market and initiatives to redistribute city tax dollars to the poorest Texas neighborhoods.
Phoenix, Arizona
Rent for studios to two-bedroom properties in the Arizona state capital decreased -4.5 percent from the year before. The median rent was $1,512 in October.
Rent for studios to two bedroom properties in the Arizona state capital decreased 4.5 percent from the year before
Charlotte, North Carolina
In Charlotte, the median rent for studios to two-bedroom properties was $1,520 in October. Rent decreased 3.8 percent from the year before.
Data from Zillow showed 53 percent of rentals in Charlotte are offering concessions such as free weeks of rent to lure people in.
In Charlotte, the median rent for studios to two-bedroom properties was $1,520 in October
'Now is a great time for renters to find a deal, with more new apartments hitting the market than at any time in the past several decades,' said Zillow chief economist Skylar Olsen.
'Rents are still growing, but it's a far cry from the steep rent hikes of two or three years ago, and renters will find sweeteners being offered by more than half of rentals in some places.
'A slowing job market and lower mortgage rates could mean falling rents if the current trends hold.'
