Redfin: Asking Rents Up 0.6% in September

(Image courtesy of Redfin)

Redfin, Seattle, found asking rents rose by 0.6% year-over-year in September to $1,634. On a monthly basis, they fell 0.2% from August.

The median rent has ranged between $1,599 and $1,663 over the past few years, but Redfin noted that wages have grown around 4% within that same time period, showing that rent is more affordable now than it was two years ago.

However, rents are varying significantly by region and area.

Washington, D.C., posted the biggest rent increase of the 50 largest metro areas. Rent was up 12% year-over-year to a median of $2,088.

Also seeing notable increases were Virginia Beach, Va., up 11.3% year-over-year to $1,625, Cleveland, Ohio, up 11.1% year-over-year to $1,350, and Baltimore, up 10.6% year-over-year to $1,620.

Some regions did see rent decreases. Topping that list was Jacksonville, Fla., down by 11.3% year-over-year to $1,485. Raleigh, N.C., fell by 10.6% to $1,457. San Diego, Calif., was down by 10.4% to $2,685. And Austin, Texas saw rent drop by 9.9% to $1,503.

“Rents remain stable nationally, but could look very different depending on where you live in the country,” said Redfin Senior Economist Sheharyar Bokhari. “On the East Coast and in the Midwest, there hasn’t been as much building activity, so asking rents are rising. Meanwhile, if you’re in a Sun Belt city where construction boomed following the pandemic, rents are now falling pretty fast.”

Asking rents fell across all bedroom types, something that hadn’t happened in four years prior to July.

Median asking rents for studio and one bedroom apartments fell by 0.2% year-over-year to $1,489, for two bedroom apartments it fell by 0.1% to $1,714 and for three-plus bedroom apartments, it fell by 1.9% to $1,995.