Rents Surge Most In 16 Months Pressuring Homebuyer Wannabees

Rents in all unit sizes picked up steam in April. Among the largest cities, Las Vegas, Denver, and Detroit led the pack.

The Rent Cafe’s Monthly Rent Report for the 250 largest US cities shows a 3.2% Y-o-Y surge.

The national average rent in April clocked in at $1,377. This marks the highest annual growth rate since the end of 2016.

By Size

Large cities: Las Vegas sees the fastest increasing rents Y-o-Y (6.0%), followed by Denver (5.8%) and Detroit (5.4%). Apartment prices in Brooklyn and Manhattan continue to slide, while rents in Washington, D.C., Portland, and Austin have been steady, growing by less than 1.5%.

Mid-size cities: Rents in Sacramento cooled down to 6%, but still lead. At the other end of the spectrum are New Orleans (-2.2%), Tulsa(0.5%), and Wichita (1.0%), where rents are growing the slowest.

Small cities see the top 20 most significant rent increases in April. Rents in the Midland-Odessa area skyrocketed for another month, 35.6% and 32.6% respectively. At the bottom of the list sit Norman (-2.5%), Lubbock (-2.5%), and Alexandria (-1.1%).

No significant fluctuation in prices was noticed in Chicago, Philadelphia, and San Francisco, where apartment rents grew slower than 2% over the year.

Significant Changes