Rental markets in US cities are as different as poker cards in every deck. Some markets are becoming unglued and some are surging.
Let’s take a look at data originally collected by Zumper, a portal for rental property, in its 2018 National Rent Report and assembled by Wolf Richter of Wolf Street.
For reference purposes, the national median rent in July 2018 for a 1 bedroom property was $1,208, a 2.7% increase from July 2017. The national median rent in July 2018 for a 2-bedroom property was $1,446, a 2.7% increase from July 2017.
Zumper’s Most Expensive One-Bedroom Rentals in 2018 Compared with Rental Rates in 2017
San Francisco $3,500 +2.3%
New York $2,900 -1.4%
San Jose $2,550 +7.1%***
Boston $2,340 +6.4%***
Los Angeles $2,330 +8.4%***
Washington DC $2,150 -2.3%
Oakland $2,100 -1.4%
Seattle $1,900 +1.0%
San Diego $1,850 +15.6%***
Miami $1,780 -1.1%
Santa Ana $1,770 +4.7%
Anaheim $1,680 +8.4%***
Honolulu $1,680 -7.8%***
Long Beach $1,600 +15.1%***
Chicago $1,510 -5.0%***
Fort Lauderdale $1,500 -3.8%
Denver $1,500 +15.4***
Zumper’s Most Expensive Two-Bedroom Rentals in 2018 Compared with Rental Rates in 2017
San Francisco $4,730 +5.1%
NYC $3,290 -0.3%
Los Angeles $3,210 +3.5%
San Jose $3,010 +6.7%
Boston $2,750 +3.8%
Washington DC $2,690 -14.6%***
Oakland $2,500 -1.2%
San Diego $2,460 +8.4%***
Seattle $2,450 -1.2%
Miami $2,380 -2.9%
Honolulu $2,200 +0.5%
Santa Ana $2,140 +15.7%***
Anaheim $2,120 +10.4%***
Long Beach $2,020 +8.0%***
Denver $1,980 +7.0%***
Denver $1,970 +7.0%***
Chicago $1,850 -13.6%***
Rent increases of +10% are common in less expensive markets. Think Santa Ana, Anaheim, Atlanta Minneapolis, Baltimore, Houston, Madison, Sacramento, Orlando, Durham, Newark and Fort Worth. Also think Cleveland, Detroit, Salt Lake City, Akron, Spokane, St. Louis, Cincinnati, Omaha, Milwaukee, Louisville, etc.
Notice that San Francisco has the highest rent rates for both one- and two- bedroom units yet that these rates are still below the City’s peak rates in 2015.
Seattle, the market where prices for single-family homes have exploded, has “relatively moderate rates” compared to San Francisco and New York City. The reason? There has been an onslaught of luxury supply with 8,600 new apartments coming onto the market in 2018. A whopping 25,000 new apartments are currently under construction.
Lastly, notice the huge rental price discrepancies in one- and two- bedroom apartments in cities such as Washington DC, Chicago, San Diego and Honolulu.
