Easing of pandemic has some renters paying almost $200 more each month
CHICAGO, US, Sep 30 (AA): Apartment dwellers across the US are facing rent increases not seen in years as inflation heats up and economic pressures from the COVID-19 pandemic begin to wane.
The Zumper National Rent report says overall, the average US monthly rent for a two-bedroom apartment has increased 13.1% to $1,663 since March 2020, the start of the pandemic in the US. But some cities in Florida and Georgia are seeing rent increases of 25% or more.
Rents are especially on the rise in New York City, where people are returning to the city and offices and entertainment venues are re-opening. Landlords are raising rents by as much as 70%. Data from StreetEasy showed that July rents in New York averaged $3,000, compared to a pandemic low of $2,750.
The Zumper report calls the double-digit growth over the last year and a half “shocking…especially considering the vast majority of it has come in the last 9 months.”
Figures compiled by the Apartment List database suggest that rents might start to cool off, as apartment vacancies rose slightly in August, for the first time since April. That is usually a sign that rents will drop. But Apartment List noted that rents continued to rise in September from August, a period in which rents usually decline.
There might not be much relief for renters in sight as overall inflation takes hold in the US. The Dallas Federal Reserve is predicting that rent data coming from the Bureau of Labor Statistics will point to a 6.9% increase in rents by the end of 2023, which would be an increase not seen in more than 30 years.
