As 2017 gets underway, rent prices have followed the trend from the end of last year: prices of the top rental markets, for the most part, have plateaued or declined while mid tiered cities are on the rise. Top market cities like San Francisco (1) and New York (2) experienced significant drops in prices for one bedroom apartments, 1.2% and 2.3% respectively. On the other hand, mid tier cities like Nashville (22), Houston (26), and Fresno (52) are posting considerable increases this month and year over year growth in the double digits. Though there still is a considerable gap between the two groups, it seems that the prices for these tiers are converging more so than they are diverging.
Overall, the Zumper National Rent Index is up again for the 3rd month in a row, 0.4% to $1,143 for one bedroom apartments and 0.7% to $1,358 for two bedroom apartments.
Top Five Rental Markets
1. San Francisco, CA saw rents drop slightly to $3,310 for a one bedroom apartment and $4,500 for a two bedroom apartment, which marks declines of 1.2% and 0.2% respectively. There are signs of hope for Bay Are renters as prices are down around 5% compared to last year.
2. New York, NY one and two bedroom prices continue to follow the downward trend, falling 2.3% and 2.4% respectively. Prices for one bedroom sit at $2,910 while two bedroom prices sit at $3,320. Prices are 9.6% and 10.5% lower since last year.
3. Boston, MA rent prices ticked up this month 1.3% to $2,280 for one bedroom units and 0.4% to $2,610 for two bedroom units. However, rents for both one and two bedroom apartments are down 2.6% from where they were twelve months ago.
4. San Jose, CA saw rent prices take a considerable jump this month, but remained at the number four spot. One bedroom prices rose 3.2% to $2,240. Two bedroom rents bumped up 3.1% to $2,680.
5. Oakland, CA experienced rising rents for one bedroom and two bedroom apartments. They rose by 1% and 1.6%, respectively, to $2,110 and $2600.
Notable Changes This January
Upward
– Los Angeles, CA moved one spot, right behind Oakland, to take the 6th spot on the list, passing Washington, D.C. One bedroom units rose by 0.5% to an even $2,000 while two bedroom units saw an increase of 0.7% to $2,900.
– Houston, TX went up two spots to 26th as it saw rents for one bedroom units rise 4.4% to $1,190 while two bedroom prices climbed 4.9% to $1,490. Prices for both unit types are up a whopping 14% since last year.
– Denver, CO prices have been down compared to last February, but that did not stop it from climbing two spots this month to 22nd. One bedroom and two bedroom prices both increased 2.5% this past month to $1,220 and $1,610, respectively.
– Baltimore, MD saw rents shoot up 4.8% for one bedroom units to $1,090. Two bedroom unit prices climbed to $1,300, marking a 3.2% increase.
– Nashville, TN launched forward four spots, moving to 22nd. Prices continue to rise as one bedroom rents are 4.3% more expensive this month, settling at $1,220. Two bedroom rents had slower growth at 1.5%, but both unit types are up 14% this year.
Downward
– Chicago, IL maintained its ranking but saw prices decrease. One bedroom units were down by 2.7% to $1,810 while two bedroom units fell 4.4% to $2,400. Compared to last year, one and two bedroom rents are 6.7% and 8% lower respectively.
– Washington, DC took one step down as one bedroom prices fell just below $2,000, marking a 2% decrease. Two bedroom prices dipped very slightly by 0.4% to $2,630.
– Minneapolis, MN fell three spots to 20th. Prices took a big dip this month as one bedroom prices dropped 3.7% to $1,310 while two bedroom prices fell 4.7% to $1,820. Rent, however, is on a steep rise as year over year rates hover close to 15% for both types of apartments.
– Pittsburgh, PA dropped another five spots this past month from 22nd to 27th. One bedroom prices sunk to $1,150, marking a 5% decrease. Two bedroom prices saw similar behavior, dropping 3.8% to $1,280.
– Austin, TX moved down two spots to 28th. This month, one and two bedroom apartments are priced at $1,130 and $1,430 respectively, indicating 3.4% and 2.1% decrease since last month.
Full Dataset
| One Bedroom | Two Bedrooms | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos. | City | Price | M/M % | Y/Y % | Price | M/M % | Y/Y % |
| 1 | Portland | $1,360 | -2.90% | 1.50% | $1,590 | -1.20% | 2.60% |
| 2 | Hillsboro | $1,330 | 0.00% | 3.90% | $1,490 | 2.10% | 2.10% |
| 3 | Tualatin | $1,210 | 2.50% | 3.40% | $1,270 | -1.60% | 7.60% |
| 4 | Lake Oswego | $1,140 | 2.70% | -4.20% | $1,470 | -3.30% | -2.00% |
| 5 | Happy Valley | $1,120 | -1.80% | 13.10% | $1,330 | -3.60% | 9.00% |
| 5 | Wilsonville | $1,120 | 0.90% | -6.70% | $1,360 | 4.60% | -15.00% |
| 6 | Beaverton | $1,110 | -0.90% | 4.70% | $1,350 | 0.00% | 5.50% |
| 6 | Milwaukie | $1,110 | -1.80% | -11.90% | $1,230 | 0.80% | 10.80% |
| 7 | Gresham | $990 | -1.00% | 15.00% | $1,130 | -1.70% | 6.60% |
| 8 | Tigard | $950 | -5.00% | -3.10% | $1,100 | 0.00% | 4.80% |
About
The Zumper National Rent Report analyzes rental data from over 1 million active listings across the United States. Data is aggregated on a monthly basis to calculate median asking rents for the top 100 metro areas by population, providing a comprehensive view of the current state of the market. The report is based on all data available in the month prior to publication.
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