Renters are paying an average of $40 more per month than a year ago as June rents brought a rents upsurge of 2.9 percent in national average rents, according to RENTCafe.com, based on Yardi Matrix data.
The national average rent reached the all-time high of $1,405.
Highlights of June rents upsurge report
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- Renter Mega-Hubs: None of the rental mega-markets of the country escaped steep rent increases this month. Clocking in at $1,387, rents in Orlando saw a 8.4% Y-o-Y increase, the most significant growth in this category. After a period of sluggish growth, Manhattan rents inched up by 1.5%, marking the highest increase in 12 months.
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- Large cities: Las Vegas (7%) and Phoenix (6.4%) rents continue fast ascent, followed by San Diego (5.4%). Baltimore (0.6%) prices remained pretty much the same, while Oklahoma City and San Antonio exhibited a moderate 2.1% Y-o-Y increase.
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- Mid-size cities: Steadily catching up with South Florida prices, Tampa sees the highest rent increase over the year – 6.2%. Sacramento and Mesa follow in a 5.9% tie, while prices in Wichita and Tulsa remained virtually flat.
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- Small cities: June’s shockers were Midland (38.8%) and Odessa (36.6%), but Lancaster (10.2%), Reno (9.9%), and Peoria (9.6%) saw remarkable rent growth as well. On the flip side, compared to last year, rents in Brownsville and Norman decreased by 1.9% and 1.8% respectively.
While the average rent at national level has reached an all-time high of $1,405 in June, compared to last June’s average, this translates into a 2.9% increase. Month-over-month, national rents upsurge grew on average by 0.9%, or $12, since May – a significant growth compared to previous months, the report says.
Mid-size cities: Tampa, Sacramento and Mesa see the highest rent increases
Rents in mid-size cities have seen the fastest growth in Tampa, where renters now pay 6.2% more for their apartments than they did the same time last year. Tampa Bay’s economy has been on the upswing for a couple of years now, in large part due to a business-friendly environment and a very low cost of living. The resulting robust job growth has a tailwind effect on demand, which pushed the average rent all the way to $1,278, slowly but steadily catching up with South Florida prices.
Sacramento and Mesa, Arizona, follow in a 5.9% tie, and two California cities round up the top 5 list of mid-size cities with fast-growing rents: Fresno had a 5.7% rent growth and Stockton registered a 5.5% increase over the year.
Most expensive and least expensive cities for June rents
Manhattan, NYC is still the most expensive rental market in America, rentals here command on average $4,116, $20 more than last month. Rents in San Francisco, CA have seen a $55 increase to $3,561 by June. Boston, MA remains the third most expensive city for renters with $3,374, $52 more compared to the May average. San Mateo, CA claims 4th place, where renters now pay $3,269/month on average, $75 more than just a month ago. Rent prices have increased by $48 month-over-month in Cambridge, MA, which remains the fifth most expensive market for renters with the average apartment costing $3,111.
Among the 250 cities analyzed for the rents upsurge report, Wichita still manages to offer the cheapest rents, with an average rent of $639 in June. Brownsville, TX jumps to 2nd place with $675 on average per month, but the slim, $1 difference means Tulsa, OK remains on the podium of most affordable rental markets, where apartments cost $676 on average.
