According to Zumper’s November rent report, rent prices are steadily declining across much of the United States.
Nationally, the median price for a one-bedroom is unchanged from last month; the median price for a two-bedroom declined by 0.4 percent. Zumper’s top 100 cities had decreased or flat one-bedroom prices compared to last month; 60 percent had decreased or flat two-bedroom medians.
“We’re seeing pandemic trends begin to unwind, and unwind quickly, as renters hunker down in anticipation of a recession,” Zumper CEO Anthemos Georgiades said in a release.
“Over the last two years we saw unprecedented rises in rent prices driven by a booming economy, low interest rates, a one-off spike in demand post vaccines, and supply chain issues that delayed new units coming to market. Now—with inflation and interest rates high and the labor market beginning to tighten—Americans are holding off on major economic decisions. Household formation has paused and even inverted, driving demand down and cooling off rent prices.”
There is a leveling off of rent prices in metros
Several metros that have experienced substantial, sustained price increases are beginning to level off: Nashville is down 2.9 percent, Boston is down 2 percent, and New York is down 1.8 percent for median one-bedroom rents.
Due to an incentive program to lure remote workers, one-bedroom rents in Tulsa, OK are down an impressive 6.3 percent from last month. With a median one-bedroom rent of $1,330, Fresno, CA, has fallen 16 spots this month.
What is this happening?
- In many parts of the country, rental prices are falling due to recession fears and diminished occupancy.
- Trends of the pandemic era are dissipating, particularly in areas where work-from-home policies welcomed large numbers of new residents. There is a noticeable reversal across Arizona in particular.
- With New York still the most expensive city in the country, Boston and San Francisco are tied for second.