
August Highlights
- August 2022 marks the first month in the past 13 months where rent growth has slowed to a single-digit rate for 0-2 bedroom properties (9.8% Y/Y).
- The median asking rent in the 50 largest metros declined to $1,771, cooling from last month’s peak.
- Miami’s leading position in the year-over-year growth rate was surpassed by Chicago, IL (24.9% Y/Y), Boston, MA (22.8% Y/Y), and New York, NY (18.9% Y/Y), for the first time in the past ten months.
- Studios continued to catch up with double-digit rent increases whereas 1-bedroom and 2-bedroom units experienced single-digit growth. Rent by size: Studio: $1,489, up 11.8% ($158) year-over-year; 1-bed: $1,653, up 9.3% ($141); 2-bed: $1,964, up 9.1% ($163).
Affordability
- In August 2022, rent was less affordable than the previous year. Renters earning the typical household income devoted 26.4% of their income to lease a typical for-rent home (vs. 25.7% in August 2021).
- 9 of the top 50 metros had a rent share higher than 30% relative to the median household income. Miami, FL, was the least affordable rental market in August 2022. The median rent for a typical 0-2 bedroom unit in Miami, FL, is 1.5 times as high as the estimated maximum affordable rent for the median household.
- Oklahoma City, OK, is the most affordable rental market in August 2022. The median rent for a typical 0-2 bedroom unit was 42% lower than its estimated maximum affordable rent.
- With a resurgence in urban rents, rental affordability deteriorated most in the northeast metros such as Boston, MA and New York, NY over the past 12 months.
Rent Dips and Year-over-Year Growth Continues to Slide
In August 2022, the U.S. rental market experienced its first single-digit growth over the past 13 months. The median rent growth across the top 50 metros slowed to 9.8% year-over-year for 0-2 bedroom properties but is still three times as fast as the growth rate seen just before the pandemic hit in March 2020. The median asking rent was $1,771, down by $10 from last month. It is the first time we have seen rents decline since last November, perhaps a sign that more typical seasonal cooling is returning to the rental market, like we’ve seen in recent for-sale data. Despite these encouraging indicators for renters, real affordability challenges persist, and inflation (8.3%) continues to outpace annual wage growth(5.2%), evaporating real gains employees might see from an otherwise strong labor market.
Source Realtor.com