Via Zumper
Month-over-month increases in rental costs have slowed across the country, but it’s still more expensive to rent a one- or two-bedroom apartment in Seattle than it was last year.
Real estate research website Zumper used data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics to create their latest national rent report, which shows that nationwide rent costs have increased year over year by 7.3% for one-bedrooms and 6.8% for two bedrooms. This is considerably less than the price hikes seen from 2021 to 2022, when costs for one-bedrooms increased by 12.8% and two-bedrooms increased by 13.8%.
Additionally, Zumper found that month-over-month changes in national rent averages have remained static from January to February. Nationally, the average one-bedroom cost $1,492 in February, while the average two-bedroom cost $1,824.
“Many markets continue to either normalize or correct following the steep increases in rent seen in 2021-22 in the zero interest rate and QE environment we went through,” said Zumper CEO Anthemos Georgiades. “With interest rates expected to rise further in 2023, we anticipate continued deceleration in rent rises as new household formation freezes or is at least postponed.”
In Seattle, the year-over-year increase was slightly steeper, with one-bedroom apartments increasing by 15.6% to $2,000 and two-bedroom apartments increasing by 7% to $2,750. That makes the Emerald City the No. 13 most expensive metro area for rentals. However, on a month-to-month level, rents have increased by only 1.5% for one-bedrooms and 1.9% for two-bedrooms.
The No. 1 most expensive city to rent is still New York, where the average one-bedroom apartment has a price tag of $3,550 per month — 14.5% higher than last year’s average price. However, prices for both one- and two-bedroom units have actually decreased by almost 4% from January. February marked the fifth month in a row for decreasing rental prices in the Big Apple.
While 20% of the cities on Zumper’s list saw price increases of 4% or higher compared to January, 20% also saw month-over-month rent decreases of at least 4%. The biggest month-over-month increases were seen in Honolulu; Gilbert, Arizona; Indianapolis; Phoenix; Durham, N.C.; and Detroit. Conversely, the greatest month-over-month decreases in rent costs were seen in Syracuse, N.Y. Bakersfield, California; and Madison, Wisconsin.