Forget the urban exodus: Rent is rising again across the country.
The pandemic sent rent prices for apartments and houses plummeting, in some cases, to 10-year lows. Now the real estate market is heating up just as the world opens up.
According to the latest StreetEasy market report on New York City real estate, rent is slowly beginning to rise again after bottoming out in late May. In Manhattan, for example, the median asking rent rose $60 to $2,860. The pandemic brought average rent down to levels not seen since the great recession, but now a steady uptick in demand across the country is driving up rent, albeit slowly, as residents return to cities. Apartments.com, meanwhile, reports that rent prices are up 7.5% nationally, three times higher than the typical rate.
Our data, based on Craigslist rental listings, shows that New York, San Francisco, and Miami have all seen recent upticks in rent prices.
According to our data on user-uploaded listings on Craigslist, the average monthly rent for apartments and houses in New York has increased to $2,430, a 8.3% increase from $2,240 in the past three months.
Miami’s average monthly rent rose from $1,910 to $2,200 in the last three months, a 14.9% increase. San Francisco, meanwhile, saw a 2% increase in that same time, from $2,690 to $2,740. It should be noted, however, that the Bay Area’s Craigslist data has seen fluctuations day-to-day due to abnormally expensive listings.
| City | % Change | Rent April 13 | Rent July 8 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Las Vegas | 20.8% | $902 | $1,090 |
| Phoenix | 17.2% | $1,220 | $1,430 |
| Miami | 15.2% | $1,910 | $2,200 |
| Seattle | 13.7% | $1,680 | $1,910 |
| Denver | 11.5% | $1,570 | $1,750 |
| Portland | 10.9% | $1,470 | $1,630 |
| Austin | 10.1% | $1,390 | $1,530 |
| Washington, DC | 9.7% | $1,750 | $1,920 |
| San Diego | 9.4% | $2,120 | $2,320 |
| Boston | 9.2% | $2,280 | $2,490 |
| New York | 8.5% | $2,240 | $2,430 |
| Baltimore | 6.3% | $1,420 | $1,510 |
| Chicago | 6.0% | $1,510 | $1,600 |
| Houston | 4.4% | $1,140 | $1,190 |
| Philadelphia | 4.4% | $1,600 | $1,670 |
| New Orleans | 3.5% | $1,140 | $1,180 |
| San Francisco | 1.9% | $2,690 | $2,740 |
| San Antonio | 1.6% | $994 | $1,010 |
| Los Angeles | 0.4% | $2,240 | $2,250 |
Despite the recent rise, experts are doubtful that rents will reach pre-pandemic highs anytime soon. Median rents in Manhattan, for example, are still 18% lower than they were in March 2020, just before the city’s housing market froze. Still, the number of listings in New York is comparable to 2019 levels, and property is being snapped up faster than usual. Markets across the country could see a steady uptick over the next several months.
About the Data:
Thinknum tracks companies using the information they post online, jobs, social and web traffic, product sales, and app ratings, and creates data sets that measure factors like hiring, revenue, and foot traffic. Data sets may not be fully comprehensive (they only account for what is available on the web), but they can be used to gauge performance factors like staffing and sales.