August Rents Rose In 89% Of Top 252 Cities: Fastest Pace In 18 Months

Apartment construction is down. Rent prices are up. That’s the message in 89% of the top 252 US markets.

The RentCafe reports August Rents Rose at the Fastest Pace in 18 Months, as Apartment Construction Slows

Key Points

Rents push forward in August, rising by 3.1%, the fastest annual increase in 18 months.

The national average rent reached an all-time high of $1,412 in August 2018, up by 3.1 percent ($42) year over year, and by 0.1 percent ($2) month over month.

Rents increased in 89 percent of the nation’s biggest 252 cities in August (including newly added Queens, NY and Honolulu, HI), stayed flat in 10 percent of cities, and dropped in only 1 percent of cities compared to August 2017.

Queens (NYC), Las Vegas, and Phoenix rents increased the most in one year, while Baltimore, San Antonio, and Washington, DC rents have changed the least among the nation’s largest cities.

National Rent Changes

Large City Rent Changes

Top and Bottom Ten

Mega-Hub Rent Prices

The above charts reflect the silliness of computing national average inflation measures such as the CPI. If you live in LA, Chicago, Orlando, Tampa, or Denver, you know first hand the CPI is understated.

So does anyone who buys their own medical insurance.

And the BLS does not factor in rising home prices or asset prices.

The Fed blew multiple bubbles, and they will all pop.