As 2016 comes to a close, we take a look at how the rental market has compared to last year and how it is shaping up going into the New Year. Renters in the most expensive markets can take home another gift these holidays as rents in those markets have been down since last year. Most notable of all is New York, which has seen prices for one bedroom and two bedroom apartments down 9.1% and 10.5% compared to last December, making life a little easier for those in the Big Apple. Across the rest of the country, renters in other major cities are experiencing quite the price bump as one bedroom apartments in Providence, Philadelphia, and Long Beach are up 14% compared to twelve months ago.
Overall, median prices for both one and two bed apartments stand at $1,139 and $1,348, indicating a 0.8% and 0.6% increase this month. Even as pricey markets continue to fall, other rising markets are pushing up the national median rent about 2.6% since last year.
Top Five Rental Markets
1. San Francisco, CA rents were up slightly, rising to $3,350 for a one bedroom and $4,510 for a two bedroom apartment, which marks increases of 0.6% and 0.2% respectively. However, as the year comes to an end, one bedroom rents are down 4% from where they were twelve months ago, providing Bay Area renters some reassurance going into 2017.
2. New York, NY one bedroom prices fell below $3,000 for the first time in quite some time while two bedroom rent prices saw no change. New York has seen huge declines in rental prices since last year, as one bedroom and two bedroom prices have fallen by a whopping 9.1% and 10.5% respectively.
3. Boston, MA rent prices moved in the opposite direction as its weather this month, as one bedrooms went up 0.4% to $2,250 and two bedroom units went up 0.8% to $2,600. Compared to last year, however, rent is down 5.9% for one bedroom apartments and down 2.3% for two bedroom apartments.
4. San Jose, CA rent prices fell slightly this past month, but remained our fourth most expensive rental market in the United States. One bedroom prices dipped to $2,170 while two bedroom prices were $2,600, showing declines of 0.5% and 1.9% respectively.
5. Oakland, CA prices for one bedroom and two bedroom apartments fell by 5% to $2090 and $2560 respectively, giving renters in Oakland a little extra to celebrate this month. Tied with San Jose for fourth last month, the price decrease drops Oakland one spot below San Jose.
Notable Changes This December
Upward
– Providence, RI jumped two spots to become the fourteenth most expensive rental market in the United States, as one bedroom units rose by a whopping 4.3% to $1,440 last month while two bedroom units saw an increase of 4.9% to $1,510. Both have seen 14% increases in rent prices since last year.
– Chicago, IL bumped up one spot as it saw rents for one bedroom units rise 2.2% to $1,860 while two bedroom prices climbed 2% to $2,510, making it the eighth most expensive rental market in the United States.
– Fort Worth, TX went up four spots, ascending to the 44th spot on the list. One bedroom prices spiked 4.4% this past month to $940. Two bedroom prices saw more modest growth at 1.8% making the median price $1,110
– Kansas City, MO saw rents rise for one bedroom units by 3.8% this past month to $830 and moved up six spots to the 55th most expensive rental market in the United States. Rents for two bedroom prices, on the other hand, decreased 1.1% to $940
– Nashville, TN shot up this month, rising one spot to 26th. One bedroom prices rose by 4.5% to $1,170 and two bedroom inched up 1.6% to $1,300.
Downward
– Seattle, WA sunk two spots to the tenth most expensive rental market. Prices for one bedroom units were down by 2.2% to $1,790 while two bedroom units were down 3.6% to $2,400. Prices for one bedroom and two bedroom units are still up 8.5% and 5.3% compared to last year.
– Washington, DC although maintaining its ranking, saw one bedroom prices fall by 2.9% to $2,030 this month and are down 5.6% since last year. Prices for two bedroom units were also down, falling 1.5% to $2,640 and down 7.7% since December 2015.
– Pittsburgh, PA fell by one as rent took a dive this month. One bedroom units dropped sharply to $1,210 and two bedrooms were down to $1,330, marking declines of 4.7% and 5% respectively. Rent however is on a steep rise as year over year rates hover around 14% for both types of apartments.
– Baton Rogue, LA fell by five spots this past month, as rents for one bedroom plunged by 4.8% to $800 while two bedroom unit prices dipped to $950, marking a 3.1% decrease.
– Denver, CO saw prices fall this past month but still ranked at 24th. One bedroom apartments slipped 2.5% to $1,190 and two bedroom rents dropped by 1.9% to $1,570.
Full Dataset
| City | Price (1 Bd) | M/M % | Y/Y % | Price (2 Bd) | M/M % | Y/Y % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlanta | $1,350 | 0.7% | 5.5% | $1,700 | 0.6% | 6.3% |
| Johns Creek | $1,210 | 0.8% | 3.4% | $1,440 | -0.7% | -0.7% |
| Alpharetta | $1,200 | -1.6% | 6.2% | $1,410 | 0.0% | 6.8% |
| Dunwoody | $1,200 | 5.3% | 12.1% | $1,540 | 4.8% | 15.0% |
| Sandy Springs | $1,190 | -4.8% | -9.8% | $1,400 | -4.8% | -15.0% |
| Smyrna | $1,150 | -5.0% | 6.5% | $1,240 | 0.0% | -7.5% |
| Roswell | $1,060 | -5.4% | 15.0% | $1,190 | -4.8% | 13.3% |
| Newnan | $910 | 4.6% | 9.6% | $990 | 0.0% | 11.2% |
| Marietta | $880 | 0.0% | 11.4% | $1,020 | 1.0% | 7.4% |
| Norcross | $770 | -2.5% | 2.7% | $970 | -1.0% | 12.8% |
| Gainesville | $690 | 1.5% | 4.5% | $800 | 0.0% | -5.9% |
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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