The national average apartment rent ticked up nearly 3 percent in June compared to the year before, reaching a record $1,405 a month thanks to sharp growth in smaller markets.
Manhattan cemented its standing as the nation’s most expensive place to rent with a 1.5 percent increase over last year, to $4,116. San Francisco was a distant second at $3,561 a month.
Manhattan’s rent bump represents its highest year over year spike in 12 months, following a period of stagnant or deflating rents.
Average rents grew in 220 of the nation’s 250 largest cities, according to the report, whose underlying data RentCafe drew from Yardi Matrix.
In Miami, there was a 2.9 percent jump, to $1,635 in June. But Orlando saw the sharpest uptick of any big city, rising 8.4 percent to reach $1,387.
In Los Angeles, average rent climbed 4 percent, hitting $2,368.
Rent growth in Chicago, which has seen a torrid pace of apartment construction, lagged slightly behind the national average with 2.7 percent uptick, reaching $1,879 in June. But that represents a jump of more than $24 between May and June alone.
Just five cities saw rents fall year over year, including three in Texas.