Realtor.com® August Rental Report: National Rent Growth Hits Double-Digits

Rhea-AI Summary

The U.S. rental market is experiencing significant growth, with rental prices reaching a median of $1,633 in August, representing an 11.5% increase year-over-year. Rents have surged in over half of the 50 largest metros, with Tampa leading at a notable 30.6% increase. Demand is fueled by a post-pandemic recovery, as young adults seek new living spaces and homebuyers pause in a competitive housing market. All unit sizes, including studios, one-bedrooms, and two-bedrooms, saw price increases, resulting in record high rents across the nation.

Positive

• U.S. rental prices increased to a median of $1,633, marking an 11.5% year-over-year growth.
• Major metros like Tampa, Riverside, and Miami saw double-digit rent growth, with Tampa at 30.6%.
• All tracked unit sizes reached new rent highs, indicating strong demand for housing.

Negative

• Big tech cities like New York and San Francisco showed minimal rent recovery, with New York down 6.5%.
• Despite rising rents, some major markets remain below historical peaks, indicating uneven recovery.

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Sept. 16, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The U.S. rental market is booming. Rental prices hit double-digit growth for the first time in two years in August and grew three times faster than in March 2020 (prior to the onset of COVID), according to the Realtor.com^® Monthly Rental Report released today. Additionally, rents posted double-digit gains over last year in more than half of the 50 largest metros, led by Tampa (+30.6%), Riverside, Calif. (+28.6%), Miami (+27.0%) and Phoenix (+25.5%).

"Put simply, August trends suggest rents are making up for lost time. Rents remained low during some of the worst months of the pandemic, growing at a sub-2% pace from September 2020 to March 2021, which is also when for-sale home prices were growing by double-digits," said Realtor.com^® Chief Economist Danielle Hale. "Now we've reached a stage in the COVID recovery where people are ready to move, and we're seeing urgency to find new living spaces immediately. A lot of this demand can be attributed to vaccines opening up offices and city-life, young adults feeling more confident to strike out on their own, and homebuyers needing to take a break from the red hot housing market. And many are willing to pay top dollar to make that happen quickly, which may lead to even more growth in rents over the next few months."

National rents rise by double-digits as all unit sizes reach new rent highs

The U.S. median rental price reached a new high of $1,633 in August as rent growth accelerated to a double-digit pace, up 11.5% year-over-year. Annual rent growth has now tripled since March 2020 (+3.2%) before the pandemic began.

All unit sizes tracked by Realtor.com^® reached new rental price highs in August: Two-bedrooms at $1,828, one-bedrooms at $1,524 and studios at $1,338. With demand for more space rising during the pandemic, both two-bedroom (+12.3%) and one-bedroom (11.6%) rents grew by double-digits over last year in August. Studio rents also saw a sizable increase of 8.3% year-over-year to a median $1,338 per month.

Rents continue surging in the majority of large markets, led by secondary metros

In 28 of the 50 largest U.S. markets, rents posted double-digit gains over last year in August. Median rental prices increased by at least 21% year-over-year in each of the 10 metros by August's highest yearly rent growth, which were: Tampa (+30.6%), Riverside (+28.6%), Miami (+27.0%), Phoenix (+25.5%), Las Vegas (+23.4%), San Diego (+23.4%), Memphis (+21.8%), Austin (+21.7%), Orlando (+21.4%) and Atlanta (+21.2%).

Many of August's fastest-growing rental markets are secondary metros offering relatively affordable housing and balanced lifestyles, which have attracted big tech city renters working remotely during COVID. With rents rising at a faster yearly pace than in nearby Los Angeles (+10.2%) in August, Riverside has held one of the top spots for the highest rent gains for the fourth straight month. Even with the surge in rents, Riverside's median rental price of $2,234 in August remained lower than in Los Angeles ($2,800).

Big tech city rents still lag behind historical peaks, but are gaining ground

Over the course of this summer (June-August 2021), rents hit new two-year highs in 46 of the 50 largest metros. The remaining four markets in August were big tech cities where annual rent growth had yet to fully recover from steep declines seen earlier in the pandemic: New York (-6.5%), Boston (0.0%), San Francisco (+1.4%) and San Jose (+7.0%). Rents may not be high relative to recent history in these big tech cities, but they are more expensive than in other markets. All four of these areas made August's top five list of metros by highest rental prices, led by San Jose at a median $2,995.

On top of this, big tech city rents are gaining ground as some homebuyers consider taking a break from this year's challenging market, marked by a shortage of affordable homes for sale. In August, San Jose rents grew over 50% faster year-over-year than overall home listing prices (+4.2%), at a median $1.25 million in August. If August trends continue, San Jose rents are on track to surpass the previous peak seen in March 2020 ($3,127) by end-of-year.

"Many of today's renters are future homebuyers, so while rising rents can be viewed as a good thing – a signal of rebounding economic activity – they need to be navigated carefully by households hoping to own a home one day. Whether you plan on buying a home in 2022 or 2027, it's important to remember that housing costs are typically your largest monthly expense. In other words, what you spend on rent will impact how much you have left to save. Prospective renters can use tools like the Realtor.com^® Rentals app to search for and set up custom search alerts about rentals that meet their criteria – including price ranges – to help them stay on-budget," Hale said.

Renters planning on homebuying in the future can also use tools like Realtor.com^®'s Real Estate app to stay on top of home prices in their desired areas and its Mortgage Calculator to help them manage their budgets, on their timeline for making the transition from renting to buying. 

Realtor.com® August 2021 Rental Data - Top 10 Markets for Rent Increases
Rank	Metro	Overall Rent	Overall Rent YY
1	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Fla.	$1,760	30.6%
2	Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif.	$2,234	28.6%
3	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, Fla.	$2,432	27.0%
4	Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, Ariz.	$1,688	25.5%
5	Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, Nev.	$1,515	23.4%
6	San Diego-Carlsbad, Calif.	$2,695	23.4%
7	Memphis, Tenn.-Miss.-Ark.	$1,200	21.8%
8	Austin-Round Rock, Texas	$1,618	21.7%
9	Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Fla.	$1,620	21.4%
10	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, Ga.	$1,697	21.2%

 

Realtor.com® August 2021 Rental Data - 50 Largest Metropolitan Areas
Metro	Overall Rent	Overall Rent YY	1br Rent	1br Rent YY	2br Rent	2br Rent YY
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, Ga.	$1,697	21.2%	$1,600	22.2%	$1,857	21.8%
Austin-Round Rock, Texas	$1,618	21.7%	$1,486	22.5%	$1,809	22.1%
Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, Md.	$1,685	9.6%	$1,600	9.7%	$1,782	7.7%
Birmingham-Hoover, Ala.	$1,093	12.7%	$1,056	12.9%	$1,120	12.6%
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, Mass.-N.H.	$2,499	0.0%	$2,365	0.8%	$2,700	-4.9%
Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, N.Y.	$1,195	9.6%	$1,070	7.3%	$1,355	11.5%
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, N.C.-S.C.	$1,515	17.5%	$1,399	17.1%	$1,669	17.1%
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, Ill.-Ind.-Wis.	$1,690	-0.3%	$1,650	0.3%	$1,895	-0.3%
Cincinnati, Ohio-Ky.-Ind.	$1,195	12.2%	$1,136	9.2%	$1,275	10.0%
Cleveland-Elyria, Ohio	$1,105	7.3%	$1,075	9.7%	$1,205	10.1%
Columbus, Ohio	$1,175	11.4%	$1,100	10.6%	$1,270	12.4%
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas	$1,450	16.0%	$1,330	17.5%	$1,725	19.8%
Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, Colo.	$1,888	14.4%	$1,769	16.0%	$2,185	15.3%
Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, Mich.	$1,205	9.0%	$1,045	10.0%	$1,350	7.1%
Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, Conn.	$1,525	5.2%	$1,425	3.3%	$1,700	6.6%
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, Texas	$1,300	7.9%	$1,195	9.3%	$1,474	8.8%
Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN	$1,160	14.1%	$1,074	13.7%	$1,300	18.7%
Jacksonville, Fla.	$1,406	20.5%	$1,315	24.8%	$1,533	22.6%
Kansas City, Mo.-Kan.	$1,149	7.1%	$1,045	5.9%	$1,350	8.0%
Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, Nev.	$1,515	23.4%	$1,385	24.8%	$1,655	24.6%
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, Calif.	$2,800	10.2%	$2,550	10.9%	$3,374	12.5%
Louisville/Jefferson County, Ky.-Ind.	$1,030	8.4%	$981	6.1%	$1,121	13.2%
Memphis, Tenn.-Miss.-Ark.	$1,200	21.8%	$1,181	22.6%	$1,250	25.0%
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, Fla.	$2,432	27.0%	$2,150	26.5%	$2,802	24.5%
Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, Wis.	$1,415	5.6%	$1,305	2.8%	$1,650	9.6%
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, Minn.-Wis.	$1,500	3.4%	$1,435	2.9%	$1,833	7.8%
Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin, Tenn.	$1,540	16.2%	$1,486	18.4%	$1,577	13.8%
New Orleans-Metairie, La.	$1,329	-3.3%	$1,279	-1.6%	$1,500	-0.3%
New York-Newark-Jersey City, N.Y.-N.J.-Pa.	$2,455	-6.5%	$2,275	-9.0%	$2,750	-5.2%
Oklahoma City, Okla.	$850	5.1%	$759	5.4%	$899	2.7%
Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Fla.	$1,620	21.4%	$1,513	22.5%	$1,818	28.0%
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, Pa.-N.J.-Del-Md.	$1,630	2.3%	$1,580	2.9%	$1,845	4.4%
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, Ariz.	$1,688	25.5%	$1,515	27.6%	$1,894	26.3%
Pittsburgh, Pa.	$1,395	10.6%	$1,350	11.6%	$1,512	10.4%
Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, Ore.-Wash.	$1,695	12.5%	$1,635	10.9%	$1,914	17.1%
Providence-Warwick, R.I.-Mass.	$1,795	7.3%	$1,600	4.4%	$2,000	11.1%
Raleigh, N.C.	$1,473	18.9%	$1,359	19.7%	$1,649	22.1%
Richmond, Va.	$1,285	12.8%	$1,175	15.3%	$1,440	15.0%
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif.	$2,234	28.6%	$1,900	24.5%	$2,545	34.0%
Rochester, N.Y.	$1,209	9.4%	$1,100	10.1%	$1,335	6.8%
Sacramento-Roseville-Arden-Arcade, Calif.	$1,895	18.9%	$1,764	18.8%	$2,000	18.0%
San Antonio-New Braunfels, Texas	$1,182	11.3%	$1,098	13.8%	$1,354	13.9%
San Diego-Carlsbad, Calif.	$2,695	23.4%	$2,495	27.0%	$2,998	20.9%
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, Calif.	$2,895	1.4%	$2,690	-0.4%	$3,352	-1.4%
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif.	$2,995	7.0%	$2,786	7.6%	$3,400	6.3%
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Wash.	$2,053	11.9%	$2,068	12.4%	$2,299	8.4%
St. Louis, Mo.-Ill.	$1,155	6.5%	$1,129	10.1%	$1,240	7.8%
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Fla.	$1,760	30.6%	$1,629	35.9%	$1,980	35.2%
Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, Va.-N.C.	$1,350	13.4%	$1,315	13.6%	$1,445	15.6%
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.V.	$2,051	5.7%	$1,961	4.6%	$2,405	8.5%

Methodology
Rental data as of August 2021, with data history going back to March 2019. Rental units include apartment communities as well as private rentals (condos, townhomes, single-family homes). All units were studio, 1-bedroom, or 2-bedroom units. National rents were calculated by averaging the medians of the 50 largest metropolitan areas.

About Realtor.com^®
Realtor.com^® makes buying, selling, renting and living in homes easier and more rewarding for everyone. Realtor.com^® pioneered the world of digital real estate more than 20 years ago, and today through its website and mobile apps is a trusted source for the information, tools and professional expertise that help people move confidently through every step of their home journey. Using proprietary data science and machine learning technology, Realtor.com^® pairs buyers and sellers with local agents in their market, helping take the guesswork out of buying and selling a home. For professionals, Realtor.com^® is a trusted provider of consumer connections and branding solutions that help them succeed in today's on-demand world. Realtor.com^® is operated by News Corp [Nasdaq: NWS, NWSA] [ASX: NWS, NWSLV] subsidiary Move, Inc. under a perpetual license from the National Association of REALTORS^®. For more information, visit Realtor.com^®.

Media Contact
rachel.conner@move.com

 

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SOURCE Realtor.com

FAQ

What is the current median rental price in the U.S. as of August 2021?

The median rental price in the U.S. reached $1,633 in August 2021.

Which metro area experienced the highest rent increase in August 2021?

Tampa experienced the highest rent increase at 30.6% year-over-year.

How much did rental prices grow in the top 50 U.S. metros?

Rental prices grew by double digits in more than half of the 50 largest metros.

What factors are contributing to the rising rental prices in the U.S.?

Factors include post-pandemic demand, urgency for new living spaces, and young adults moving out.

How have one-bedroom and two-bedroom rental prices changed in August 2021?

One-bedroom and two-bedroom rents grew by 11.6% and 12.3%, respectively, year-over-year.