Our colleagues over at Pierce-Eislen have released their monthly Matrix rent survey covering the U.S. rental market and it looks like prices are back on the upward slope, after a slight decrease in March. Average multifamily rents in the U.S. reached $1,105 in April, registering a second all-time-high after February’s topping price of $1,108.
Western and Southeast rental markets lead the way
The average year-over-year rent growth now sits at 4.3%, with the biggest increases being registered in Western markets — particularly San Francisco, Portland, Denver and Seattle — and Southeast markets — Jacksonville, Atlanta, Orlando, and Miami.
Southern markets — Austin, San Antonio, Albuquerque — sit at the other end of the spectrum, seeing lower-than-average rent increases.
Boston and Washington DC may indicate momentum changes
There were several notable changes in the rankings of metros in the last 3 months that could “show signs of momentum changes,” the report says.
Two metros made their way up to the first 10 positions — Boston (from 26th to 7th) and Washington DC (from 27th to 10th) –while 5 former A list-ers fell in the rankings — Dallas (from 5th to 15th), San Diego (from 8th to 16th), Las Vegas (from 6th to 17th), Phoenix (from 7th to 23rd) and Chicago (from 9th to 27th).
Rental supply growth vs. Job growth
In the technology-heavy Western markets things are running smoothly. In San Fran, Portland, and Seattle the job growth is about the same as rental supply growth which means there should be no problem filling new units. However, the Southest seems to be going through a rental shortage, as job growth exceeds rental stock.
What’s for rent for $1,105/mo?
It looks like more than 15,000 apartment communities on RENTCafé.com offer rentals for $1,105 and below, so there’s plenty of choice!
Here are a couple of recommendations:
- If you’re moving to L.A., you might want to try the William Penn apartment community
- Renting in Seattle? Take a look at Monticello Apartment Homes
- In Houston, a studio at 220 West Alabama Apartments starts at $675
- For Atlanta Apartments check out apartments for rent at Metropolitan at Buckhead
- In Chicago, you can find an apartment for rent below $1,105 at Campus Court Apartments.
For more predictions about the US rental market in 2015, check out the post written by our colleagues from PropertyShark.
