Zumper National Rent Report: February 2015

Report Summary:

In this edition of the Zumper National Rent Report, we have expanded our reach to include data from the top 50 metro areas across the United States.
San Francisco remained the most expensive market in the United States for the ninth straight month, with median 1-bedroom rents rising to $3,460, the highest ever recorded. The gain was particularly notable considering that NYC, the second most expensive market, saw rents plateau in February, even after a slight drop of 3.2% in January. Boston maintained its third place position, despite a 4.2% drop to $2,300.
Rounding out the top five were Washington DC, down 0.5% to $2,000, and Oakland up a strong 5.3% to $1,980.

Notable Trends:

The Bay Area continues to command sky high rents, with San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose all making the top 10 most expensive markets in February.

• A rapid influx of population and capital, coupled with a lagging housing stock, continued to drive San Francisco, and consequently Oakland, much higher. The East Bay is currently experiencing one of the fastest rise in rents across the country.

New York City remained relatively flat across both the past month and quarter. One bedroom median rents hovered at $3,000, while prices across all bedroom types rose 1.1% to $2,640.

• On a neighborhood level, Tribeca and NoMad remained in the top two spots, both increasing just over 3% to $4,300 and $4,190, respectively.
• Areas just off the Brooklyn bridge saw a sizeable drop in rents. DUMBO fell three spots to the sixth most expensive neighborhood, down 5.8% monthly to $3,770. Vinegar Hill was similarly down 6.9% to $3,350.
• The highest increase by neighborhood was West Harlem, up 10% to median of $2,200.

Big movers upward included Milwaukee, Louisville, and Omaha. 

• Milwaukee, WI saw the second highest percentage increase last month, up 9.7% to a median of $1,020. Rents have also been up 10.9% quarter over quarter.
• Louisville, KY jumped three spots to the 28th most expensive rental city in the US, up 5.2% month over month, and 8% in the quarter to $810.
• Omaha, NE now has a median of $760 up 4.1% in the month and 8.6% in the quarter.

Down markets included Boston, Cleveland, Columbus. 

• Boston, MA though still remaining the third most expensive market in the country, saw a drop of 4.2% month over month to a median price of $2,300.
• Cleveland, OH dropped two spots to 33rd on the list, down 5.2% last month with price of $730.
• Columbus, OH also dipped 5.3% in February, with a median one bedroom of $670.

Full Report:

The full PDF for our report, including comprehensive data, can be found here: Zumper February 2015 National Rent Report
To keep up to date with rent changes across the country, like or follow Zumper on Facebook and Twitter. In the market for a new place? Search over 500,000 apartments for rent on Zumper.