The slowdown of the housing market has spilled over into the rental market, affecting how much more money landlords are now requesting, with rent still soaring.
Rent hit another all-time high in July of an average of $1,879 a month in the 50 largest metropolitan areas. That was up just $3 a month from June.
Rent was up 12.3 percent in July compared to July 2021, but it’s also down from a nearly 17 percent price spike seen in the spring. This marked the smallest increase since August of last year, marking potentially some good news.
The report was based on the apartments, condos, townhomes, and single-family homes listed for rent in July in the 50 largest metros.
Economists said it is important that renters understand that slowing rent growth is not the same thing as cheaper rent. While landlords have eased up on the size of rent increases, many renters are still feeling the pinch on their monthly budgets, with higher costs for food, groceries, transportation, and other daily expenses.
But high rent and high house expenses are the biggest source of financial strain experts said. Between soaring inflation, higher gas prices, and the stock and crypto markets taking a hit, there has been less cash for renters to spend on housing.
Over the past year, landlords have successfully made up for what they lost during the eviction moratorium, and when many rentals were heavily discounted during the Covid pandemic.
Housing experts say that renting still remains cheaper than buying in many parts of the country, because there are not enough homes for rent or sale for the number of people, meaning prices will likely stay high until there are more units available.
Rents are rising the most in Miami, where renters continued to experience the biggest increases. Landlords raised rents by about 26.2 percent in July, compared to only one year earlier.
As painful as the increases were for Miami, they were still far below the 51.6 percent jump in April.
In New York City, tenants are also facing lines around the block in the competitive housing market, alongside significant rent hikes. Rent went up in New York by 25.4 percent. Boston, Chicago, and Orlando also saw big increases in rent, with 24.8 percent, 20.6 percent, and 20.4 percent rises, respectively.
Experts said they expect urban rent growth to exceed suburban rent growth, which means that the premium renters have to pay to live in the cities to still go up.
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