A National Rent Index Posts Largest Monthly Increase Since 2017

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Rents are rebounding across the country, with mid-sized markets leading the charge.

According to the April Apartment List National Rent Report, the national index increased 1.1% from February to March. This is the largest month-over-month increase on record—dating back to January 2017.

The March increase is the second consecutive month of growth in the national rent index. Prior March month-over-month data showed 0.6% rent growth on average. This is also the third month in a row with rent growth outpacing prior years.

The national index has rebounded from early COVID-19 pandemic numbers—rents declined 1.2% from March through June of last year. However, the second half of 2020 showed results “largely in line with the seasonal trend that we’ve observed in prior years,” according to the report.

Locally, rents have dramatically fluctuated. San Francisco rents are down 23.2% year-over-year, yet the city saw a 3.4% increase month-over-month—the same percentage the city saw in monthly rent declines from April through December 2020.

New York and Seattle are each down 19% year-over-year, but both metros have seen a rebound during the past several months. Oakland, Calif., and Boston have rent declines at 15%. Washington, D.C., Chicago and Arlington, Va., are also among the cities to have double-digit rent declines year-over-year.

While coastal cities have watched rents drop, mid-sized markets have seen exponential growth. Boise, Idaho, was the hottest market with a 16% rent increase year-over-year. Fresno, Calif., had the second-largest growth at 12%, and the city was the only other one with double-digit growth. Boise joined San Francisco as the fastest growing markets month-over-month at 3.4%. Some of these mid-sized markets have seen rent growth since before the COVID-19 pandemic, and cities like Boise have yet to hit their peaks, notes Apartment List.