Rents in New York and South Florida metros surged more than 30%, led nationwide rise

Cities lead rise 13% overall rise in US rents from 2020

(iStock)
(iStock)

Average monthly rents rose by 13 percent since last year, with the bulk of the price surges recorded in popular metro areas, according to a new report from Redfin.

The report pins the average monthly rent nationwide in October at $1,858, a 12.5 percent year-over-year rise from 2020. Average rent in October in 2020 was only $1,651, but has been rising ever since.

Some metros are seeing sharper rent increases than others. Three markets in Florida — West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale and Miami — have all seen the average rent rise a whopping 36 percent year-over-year.

Areas in the New York metro area are experiencing similar growth. In New York City, Long Island’s Nassau County and New Jersey’s Newark, average rent rose 31 percent year-over-year. Those three markets, as well as New Brunswick, New Jersey, average the highest rent in the nation at $3,665.

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Several other major markets have also seen sizable year-over-year rent increases. In Chicago, average rent is up 11.1 percent to $2,450. In Los Angeles, rent has increased 14.4 percent to $3,415, one of the highest in the nation. In San Francisco, rent is up 6.7 percent to $3,314.

Rising rents can contribute to issues around inflation and reflect the crunch of housing shortages in fast-growing areas, Redfin Chief Economist Daryl Fairweather said in the report.

There is one major metro in the United States that can celebrate a year-over-year decline in rent: St. Louis, Missouri saw a 3.6 percent downtick to an average rent of $1,447 per month. Meanwhile, San Antonio has the lowest average rent among the major markets at $1,258.

Good news may be on the way for renters, however. Despite the sizable year-over-year gains in the market, the average rent across the nation is only up 0.8 percent month-over-month — the smallest increase in eight months — in a possible sign of a slowdown among the national rent hikes.

Homebuyers have also faced pricey changes this year, as Redfin reports median monthly mortgage payments were up 3.2 percent month-over-month in October. The figure marks the biggest increase since April and an increase of 16.9 percent for mortgage payments year-over-year.