Rents across U.S. continue climbing—localizing in larger, tech markets.
Rising rents across the U.S. are not backing down after another jump in September. The monthly rental report from Realtor.com shows September rents are up 13.6% year over year (YoY)—about four times higher than pre-pandemic years—and technology hubs have seen a 180 degree turn from earlier this year. Tech markets, such as San Francisco, New York and Los Angeles, were ahead 7.6% YoY after falling by nearly 16%.
Overall, the median rent in the 50 largest metros was $1,654 in September, or $198 more per month. Since September 2019, rent has jumped 15.5%, an additional $222 per month. Two-bedroom homes saw a 14.4% bump YoY to a median rent of $1,855. One-bedroom rent grew nearly 14% to $1,542, while studios climbed 11.3% to $1,351.
The Tampa, Fla., market was the hottest rent market for the second straight month with a 33.3% increase YoY. The Miami, Fla., metro saw a similar jump of 31.6% YoY to a median rent of $2,500, $700 more than Tampa. The Orlando and Jacksonville metros were also in the top 10 for Florida. All top 10 metros had rent increases of at least 22.9%. Memphis, Tenn., was the most affordable market with a median rent of $1,217.
The resurgence in the tech markets since the start of the year has been exponential. Chicago and New York (Manhattan) were the only top 10 tech metros still with a rent decline YoY. Austin, Texas, showed the largest increase of 25.6% and was also the most affordable market. San Francisco saw a 9.5% increase to $3,450, the highest priced metro.