News

Rents Continue to Surge Nationwide

SANTA CLARA — The U.S. rental market is booming. Rental prices hit double-digit growth for the first time in two years in August and grew three times faster than in March 2020 (prior to the onset of COVID), according to the Realtor.com Monthly Rental Report.

Rents posted double-digit gains over last year in more than half of the 50 largest metros, led by Tampa (+30.6%), Riverside, Calif. (+28.6%), Miami (+27.0%) and Phoenix (+25.5%). The San Jose metro area had the highest rents in the country at $2,995 per month, a 7.0% increase. San Francisco was just behind at $2,985 per month for a 1.4% increase.

“Put simply, August trends suggest rents are making up for lost time. Rents remained low during some of the worst months of the pandemic, growing at a sub-2% pace from September 2020 to March 2021, which is also when for-sale home prices were growing by double-digits,” said Realtor.com Chief Economist Danielle Hale. “Now we’ve reached a stage in the COVID recovery where people are ready to move, and we’re seeing urgency to find new living spaces immediately. A lot of this demand can be attributed to vaccines opening up offices and city-life, young adults feeling more confident to strike out on their own, and homebuyers needing to take a break from the red hot housing market. And many are willing to pay top dollar to make that happen quickly, which may lead to even more growth in rents over the next few months.”

National rents rise by double-digits as all unit sizes reach new rent highs

The U.S. median rental price reached a new high of $1,633 in August as rent growth accelerated to a double-digit pace, up 11.5% year-over-year. Annual rent growth has now tripled since March 2020 (+3.2%) before the pandemic began.

All unit sizes tracked by Realtor.com reached new rental price highs in August: Two-bedrooms at $1,828, one-bedrooms at $1,524 and studios at $1,338. With demand for more space rising during the pandemic, both two-bedroom (+12.3%) and one-bedroom (11.6%) rents grew by double-digits over last year in August. Studio rents also saw a sizable increase of 8.3% year-over-year to a median $1,338 per month.

Rents continue surging in the majority of large markets, led by secondary metros

In 28 of the 50 largest U.S. markets, rents posted double-digit gains over last year in August. Median rental prices increased by at least 21% year-over-year in each of the 10 metros by August’s highest yearly rent growth, which were: Tampa (+30.6%), Riverside (+28.6%), Miami (+27.0%), Phoenix (+25.5%), Las Vegas (+23.4%), San Diego (+23.4%), Memphis (+21.8%), Austin (+21.7%), Orlando (+21.4%) and Atlanta (+21.2%).

Many of August’s fastest-growing rental markets are secondary metros offering relatively affordable housing and balanced lifestyles, which have attracted big tech city renters working remotely during COVID. With rents rising at a faster yearly pace than in nearby Los Angeles (+10.2%) in August, Riverside has held one of the top spots for the highest rent gains for the fourth straight month. Even with the surge in rents, Riverside’s median rental price of $2,234 in August remained lower than in Los Angeles ($2,800).

Big tech city rents still lag behind historical peaks, but are gaining ground

Over the course of this summer (June-August 2021), rents hit new two-year highs in 46 of the 50 largest metros. The remaining four markets in August were big tech cities where annual rent growth had yet to fully recover from steep declines seen earlier in the pandemic: New York (-6.5%), Boston (0.0%), San Francisco (+1.4%) and San Jose (+7.0%). Rents may not be high relative to recent history in these big tech cities, but they are more expensive than in other markets. All four of these areas made August’s top five list of metros by highest rental prices, led by San Jose at a median $2,995.

On top of this, big tech city rents are gaining ground as some homebuyers consider taking a break from this year’s challenging market, marked by a shortage of affordable homes for sale. In August, San Jose rents grew over 50% faster year-over-year than overall home listing prices (+4.2%), at a median $1.25 million in August. If August trends continue, San Jose rents are on track to surpass the previous peak seen in March 2020 ($3,127) by end-of-year.

“Many of today’s renters are future homebuyers, so while rising rents can be viewed as a good thing – a signal of rebounding economic activity – they need to be navigated carefully by households hoping to own a home one day. Whether you plan on buying a home in 2022 or 2027, it’s important to remember that housing costs are typically your largest monthly expense. In other words, what you spend on rent will impact how much you have left to save. Prospective renters can use tools like the Realtor.com Rentals app to search for and set up custom search alerts about rentals that meet their criteria – including price ranges – to help them stay on-budget,” Hale said.

Renters planning on homebuying in the future can also use tools like Realtor.com’s Real Estate app to stay on top of home prices in their desired areas and its Mortgage Calculator to help them manage their budgets, on their timeline for making the transition from renting to buying.

Realtor.com August 2021 Rental Data – Top 10 Markets for Rent Increases

Rank

Metro

Overall Rent

Overall Rent YY

1

Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Fla.

$1,760

30.6%

2

Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif.

$2,234

28.6%

3

Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, Fla.

$2,432

27.0%

4

Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, Ariz.

$1,688

25.5%

5

Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, Nev.

$1,515

23.4%

6

San Diego-Carlsbad, Calif.

$2,695

23.4%

7

Memphis, Tenn.-Miss.-Ark.

$1,200

21.8%

8

Austin-Round Rock, Texas

$1,618

21.7%

9

Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Fla.

$1,620

21.4%

10

Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, Ga.

$1,697

21.2%

Realtor.com® August 2021 Rental Data – 50 Largest Metropolitan Areas

Metro

Overall Rent

Overall Rent YY

1br Rent

1br Rent YY

2br Rent

2br Rent YY

Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, Ga.

$1,697

21.2%

$1,600

22.2%

$1,857

21.8%

Austin-Round Rock, Texas

$1,618

21.7%

$1,486

22.5%

$1,809

22.1%

Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, Md.

$1,685

9.6%

$1,600

9.7%

$1,782

7.7%

Birmingham-Hoover, Ala.

$1,093

12.7%

$1,056

12.9%

$1,120

12.6%

Boston-Cambridge-Newton, Mass.-N.H.

$2,499

0.0%

$2,365

0.8%

$2,700

-4.9%

Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, N.Y.

$1,195

9.6%

$1,070

7.3%

$1,355

11.5%

Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, N.C.-S.C.

$1,515

17.5%

$1,399

17.1%

$1,669

17.1%

Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, Ill.-Ind.-Wis.

$1,690

-0.3%

$1,650

0.3%

$1,895

-0.3%

Cincinnati, Ohio-Ky.-Ind.

$1,195

12.2%

$1,136

9.2%

$1,275

10.0%

Cleveland-Elyria, Ohio

$1,105

7.3%

$1,075

9.7%

$1,205

10.1%

Columbus, Ohio

$1,175

11.4%

$1,100

10.6%

$1,270

12.4%

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas

$1,450

16.0%

$1,330

17.5%

$1,725

19.8%

Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, Colo.

$1,888

14.4%

$1,769

16.0%

$2,185

15.3%

Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, Mich.

$1,205

9.0%

$1,045

10.0%

$1,350

7.1%

Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, Conn.

$1,525

5.2%

$1,425

3.3%

$1,700

6.6%

Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, Texas

$1,300

7.9%

$1,195

9.3%

$1,474

8.8%

Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN

$1,160

14.1%

$1,074

13.7%

$1,300

18.7%

Jacksonville, Fla.

$1,406

20.5%

$1,315

24.8%

$1,533

22.6%

Kansas City, Mo.-Kan.

$1,149

7.1%

$1,045

5.9%

$1,350

8.0%

Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, Nev.

$1,515

23.4%

$1,385

24.8%

$1,655

24.6%

Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, Calif.

$2,800

10.2%

$2,550

10.9%

$3,374

12.5%

Louisville/Jefferson County, Ky.-Ind.

$1,030

8.4%

$981

6.1%

$1,121

13.2%

Memphis, Tenn.-Miss.-Ark.

$1,200

21.8%

$1,181

22.6%

$1,250

25.0%

Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, Fla.

$2,432

27.0%

$2,150

26.5%

$2,802

24.5%

Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, Wis.

$1,415

5.6%

$1,305

2.8%

$1,650

9.6%

Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, Minn.-Wis.

$1,500

3.4%

$1,435

2.9%

$1,833

7.8%

Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin, Tenn.

$1,540

16.2%

$1,486

18.4%

$1,577

13.8%

New Orleans-Metairie, La.

$1,329

-3.3%

$1,279

-1.6%

$1,500

-0.3%

New York-Newark-Jersey City, N.Y.-N.J.-Pa.

$2,455

-6.5%

$2,275

-9.0%

$2,750

-5.2%

Oklahoma City, Okla.

$850

5.1%

$759

5.4%

$899

2.7%

Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Fla.

$1,620

21.4%

$1,513

22.5%

$1,818

28.0%

Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, Pa.-N.J.-Del-Md.

$1,630

2.3%

$1,580

2.9%

$1,845

4.4%

Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, Ariz.

$1,688

25.5%

$1,515

27.6%

$1,894

26.3%

Pittsburgh, Pa.

$1,395

10.6%

$1,350

11.6%

$1,512

10.4%

Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, Ore.-Wash.

$1,695

12.5%

$1,635

10.9%

$1,914

17.1%

Providence-Warwick, R.I.-Mass.

$1,795

7.3%

$1,600

4.4%

$2,000

11.1%

Raleigh, N.C.

$1,473

18.9%

$1,359

19.7%

$1,649

22.1%

Richmond, Va.

$1,285

12.8%

$1,175

15.3%

$1,440

15.0%

Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif.

$2,234

28.6%

$1,900

24.5%

$2,545

34.0%

Rochester, N.Y.

$1,209

9.4%

$1,100

10.1%

$1,335

6.8%

Sacramento-Roseville-Arden-Arcade, Calif.

$1,895

18.9%

$1,764

18.8%

$2,000

18.0%

San Antonio-New Braunfels, Texas

$1,182

11.3%

$1,098

13.8%

$1,354

13.9%

San Diego-Carlsbad, Calif.

$2,695

23.4%

$2,495

27.0%

$2,998

20.9%

San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, Calif.

$2,895

1.4%

$2,690

-0.4%

$3,352

-1.4%

San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif.

$2,995

7.0%

$2,786

7.6%

$3,400

6.3%

Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Wash.

$2,053

11.9%

$2,068

12.4%

$2,299

8.4%

St. Louis, Mo.-Ill.

$1,155

6.5%

$1,129

10.1%

$1,240

7.8%

Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Fla.

$1,760

30.6%

$1,629

35.9%

$1,980

35.2%

Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, Va.-N.C.

$1,350

13.4%

$1,315

13.6%

$1,445

15.6%

Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.V.

$2,051

5.7%

$1,961

4.6%

$2,405

8.5%

Methodology
Rental data as of August 2021, with data history going back to March 2019. Rental units include apartment communities as well as private rentals (condos, townhomes, single-family homes). All units were studio, 1-bedroom, or 2-bedroom units. National rents were calculated by averaging the medians of the 50 largest metropolitan areas.