As renters nationwide continue to be impacted by high prices and inflationary issues, Redfin reported that rent increases tapered off in June [1], with the national median asking rent rising 14% from a year earlier—the smallest annual increase since October 2021. Asking rents were up 0.7% from May, the smallest month-over-month gain since the start of the year.
“Rent growth is likely slowing because landlords are seeing demand start to ease as renters get pinched by inflation. With the cost of gas, food and other products soaring, renters have less money to spend on housing,” said Redfin Chief Economist Daryl Fairweather [2]. “This slowdown in rent increases is likely to continue, however rents are still climbing at unprecedented rates in strong job markets like New York and Seattle and in areas like San Antonio and Austin that soared in popularity during the pandemic.”
The top metro reporting the highest asking rents was found in Cincinnati, where asking rents rose 39% year-over-year, the largest jump among the 50 most populous U.S. metropolitan areas polled by Redfin. Following Cincinnati, the top 10 list of metros with the highest year-over-year asking rents was rounded out by:
- Seattle at 33%
- Austin, Texas at 32%
- Nashville at 31%
- New York, New York at 27%
- Nassau County, New York at 27%
- New Brunswick, New Jersey at 27%
- Newark, New Jersey at 27%
- Portland, Oregon at 24%
- San Antonio, Texas at 23%
“To combat soaring rents, more cities should follow Minneapolis’ lead,” Fairweather explained. “Minneapolis eliminated single-family zoning in 2018, and last year got rid of a rule that required residential developers to include parking spaces. Now builders can replace parking spots with more housing units, which increases supply, and therefore, releases some upward pressure on rents.”
Just three of the 50 most populous metro areas saw rents fall in June from a year earlier, with rents declining 12% in Milwaukee, 7% in Minneapolis, and less than 1% in Kansas City, Missouri. The same three metro areas saw rents decline in April and May as well.
Click here [1] for more on Redfin’s latest analysis of rent prices nationwide.