Home Rent Prices Rise in September: Report

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Rents across the United States increased last month, continuing to remain at highs well above the pre-pandemic period, according to real estate brokerage Redfin.

The median asking rent rose by 0.6 percent on an annual basis in September to $1,634, said an Oct. 10 press release by the firm. This is in line with the median rental trends over the past two years where prices have largely remained within a range of between $1,599 and $1,663. In 16 of the past 24 months, the rents were in an even narrower range of $1,630 and $1,650.

Along with wages rising by four percent yearly, rents are now “more affordable” compared to two years back, the brokerage stated. However, compared to the pre-pandemic period, rents continue to remain high. The September 2024 median rent is over 20 percent higher than September 2019, data from Redfin shows.

Sheharyar Bokhari, an economist with the firm, noted that while rents have remained stable nationally, the trend could look “very different” based on where a person lives.

“On the East Coast and in the Midwest, there hasn’t been as much building activity, so asking rents are rising. Meanwhile, if you’re in a Sun Belt city where construction boomed following the pandemic, rents are now falling pretty fast.”

Midwest and East Coast metros registered the highest rent increases last month. Washington, D.C., saw the largest jump, with rental prices rising by 12 percent compared to last September. This was followed by Virginia Beach, Cleveland, Baltimore, and Chicago.

Jacksonville, Florida, saw the biggest rent decline at 11.3 percent, followed by Raleigh, San Diego, Austin, and Tampa.

Real estate Zillow noted in a Sept. 10 report that rental price growth had slowed down amid cooling demand and rising inventories. Meanwhile, property managers were pushing up concessions in a bid to entice renters. The firm estimated prices to fall with newer supplies entering the market.

“As more multi-family new construction is completed and more rentals come on the market, rent growth will likely continue to moderate. Additionally, recent declines in mortgage rates may pull more renters into the sales market, further softening rental demand,” Zillow said.

“But despite these glimmers of hope for renters, multi-family construction starts have fallen to pre-pandemic levels, which could signal that the modest improvements in rent affordability may not last for long.”

Rent Control Measures

Amid high rents, the Biden administration has called on Congress to pass legislation that would force corporate landlords to cap rent hikes.

Under the proposal, corporate landlords will only be able to benefit from faster depreciation write-offs if they keep rent increases to a maximum of five percent annually, according to a July 16 White House Fact Sheet.

The rule applies to landlords owning more than 50 housing units. If implemented, the measure will affect over 20 million housing units across the United States.

“The policy is a bridge to rents stabilizing as President Biden’s plan to build more takes hold,” the Fact Sheet said. “The President believes that this combination of anti-gouging policies and historic levels of support to build more affordable housing effectively balances the needs of tenants without limiting incentives for more supply.”

The plan has attracted criticism from housing groups. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) called rent control policies an “infringement upon private property rights,” according to a Sept. 24 post.

“Price controls may seem appealing, but they have backfired on local governments and harmed the people we need to help the most,” said NAR president Kevin Sears.

Carl Harris, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders, warned that the Biden administration’s plan discourages developers from constructing new rental housing units, which would come at a time when the country is experiencing a 1.5 million unit shortfall in housing properties. Such a situation worsens the housing affordability crisis, he said.

In a July 17 commentary, Epoch Times contributor Jeffery A. Tucker, founder and president of the Brownstone Institute, wrote that the federal law does not include any authority to control rents in the country.

Back in 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had imposed a rental moratorium on evictions. However, the Supreme Court eventually declared it unconstitutional, Tucker noted.