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Median Apartment Rents Post Ninth Consecutive Y-O-Y Decline
The median asking rent nationally for 0-2 bedroom apartments declined -0.7% year-over-year from April 2023 to $1,723 and declined across all size categories, Realtor.com reported Wednesday. It was the ninth straight Y-O-Y drop, although the pace of rent declines has slowed. Rents are just $33 (-1.9%) below their August 2022 peak.
Austin has seen the biggest decline in rents from the peak, with rents now down $195 (-11.5%) to $1,494 from its September 2022 peak. An influx of new product has pushed the metro area’s vacancy rate higher, and was partly responsible for the decline in median rents. In second place for declines from the peak is Las Vegas, down 11.5%, followed by San Francisco with a 9.9% drop from its July 2022 peak. That’s the largest percent savings, compared to the market’s peak, among the 50 biggest metro markets.
Conversely, rents are climbing in parts of the Midwest. The median asking rents hit their highest levels since March 2019 in three Midwest cities: Indianapolis (up 4.5% annually to $1,334), Milwaukee (up 3.8% to $1,671), and Minneapolis (up 2.5% to $1,529). Driving higher rents are below-average unemployment rates and the slow pace of new apartment construction.
“In the ever-fluctuating real estate market, renters will find that trends vary significantly by location,” said chief economist Danielle Hale at Realtor.com. “Renters in some historically expensive areas are seeing lower prices compared to what they would have paid at the peak of the market, while many relatively affordable markets are witnessing a continued rise in rental costs to new highs, and the scales could tip to even more markets later this summer.”
Don’t miss the Lifetime Achievement Award Presentation and Keynote Interview with G. Joseph Cosenza, Vice Chairman of The Inland Real Estate Group, LLC and President of Inland Real Estate Acquisitions, LLC at Connect Midwest: Multifamily, Affordable, Student & Senior Housing Trends on June 4, 2024, at the W-Chicago, City Center Hotel, Chicago, IL. Register Today to network with your peers!
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