The ten states where rent is cheapest after prices fall by up to 7% in a year – including some of the most beautiful locations in the US
Rents continue to rise in the US, but a handful of areas are bucking the trend with year-over-year declines of up to 15 percent, according to a new study.
The median rent in America was $2,029 in June, up 0.5 percent from the same month last year, the Rent.com report found.
States with the largest year-over-year increases are South Dakota (27%), Mississippi (27%), and Iowa (16%).
But several have bucked the trend — and they’re among the most beautiful in the United States, offering those who are flexible the tantalizing opportunity to live in picturesque bliss.
Rents in Washington fell an average of seven percent over the same period, meaning the Pacific Northwest state saw the nation’s strongest year-over-year decline.
Idaho (-6%), Arizona (-5%), Texas (-4%) and Nevada (-3%) – all famed for their Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty – round out the top five states in decline.
Snoqualmie falls near Bellevue, Washington. Rents in the state, which has some of the most beautiful scenery in the country, are down 7% since last June
Rent in the Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown, TX metropolitan area is down 14% in a year
The state with the largest year-over-year increase was South Dakota (27%), according to Rent.com. Pictured: Sioux Falls, the most populous city in South Dakota
Average rents in Idaho are 6% lower than in June 2022. Pictured: Boise, the state capital
Several of the 50 most populous metropolitan areas have also had large year-over-year swings in their rent costs.
The biggest risers are Kansas City, Missouri, where prices have increased by an average of 16%. The other leaders are Providence-Warwick, RI-MA (+11%), Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI (+10%) and San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA (+9%).
Metro areas with the largest rent declines were Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN (-15%), Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown, TX (-14%), and Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA (-14%).
Austin has boomed in recent years, but in recent years has built a reputation for being overpriced, potentially discouraging Americans from settling in the progressive Texan city.
Seattle has become infamous for its downtown full of bums, drugs, and crime. But the city still houses the global headquarters of tech giants Amazon and Microsoft, and is a short drive from beautiful coastal and mountain scenery.
The report also said national averages have risen for four consecutive months since February.
Rents were 1.7% higher in June than in May, the second highest monthly increase in 12 months.
But despite recent increases, the national average rent is still 1.8% lower than in August last year.
Rent bills are an average of $275 higher than in June 2021.
Rent.com’s John Leckie told USA Today, “Rents are essentially still rising, but price growth is more moderate than in the past. And that will be very good news for future tenants.’
Kansas City was the metro area with the highest annual average rent increase. Rents are up 16 percent in the year to June 2023, a study found
Rents in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA metropolitan area are down 14% from June 2022
The findings follow another study that found Americans are facing one of the toughest rental markets in years — with up to 20 potential renters per apartment in some cities.
The Northeast is the null point in the scramble for a new apartment as inflation, interest rate hikes and cost-of-living pressures shatter many millennials and Gen Z’s homeownership dreams.
Nearly half of the 20 most competitive rental markets in 2023 will be in the North East, with North Jersey topping the list, according to Rent a cafewhich analyzed 134 US markets in May.
The Sunbelt states also figure prominently in the data, which was compiled using factors such as the number of days apartments were vacant and the number of potential tenants.
The occupancy rate is currently near 95 percent, while 60 percent of those tenants renewed their leases, leaving Americans with very little opportunity to move.
With an average of eight potential buyers per apartment and units staying on the market for just over a month, renters are pulling their hair out to find a safe, clean and affordable place to live, especially in the Northeast.
New York City (pictured) — known for its high prices — saw a wave of people leave the bright lights as tenants got sticker shock from high shoebox renewal rates
That high demand could be due in part to New York renters getting sticker shock from exorbitant renewal rates for shoeboxes in the city, where a bedroom now costs an average of $5,000 a month.
The post-pandemic price hikes saw more and more people move away from the bright lights. And more will soon follow, forced to flee a city they can no longer afford, as the Rent Guidelines Board recently voted to raise rents by up to seven percent in nearly a million rent-stabilized apartments. according to The New York Times.
Many former New Yorkers have moved to North Jersey instead. The area has a relatively affordable cost of living for the tri-state area and is the easiest place in the Northeast for homebuyers to get a shot at a white picket fence.
But since 96.6 percent of rental properties are occupied, there is little room left for newcomers to find their dream place.
Most of the other competitive markets are also in the Northeast, with Boston; Brooklyn; Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; suburban Philadelphia; Pittsburgh; and New Haven all on the list.
U.S. condos are on the market for about 38 days, leaving little time for renters to get their dream units as they compete with an average of eight potential buyers
Northern New Jersey has a relatively affordable cost of living for the tri-state area and is the easiest place in the Northeast for potential homebuyers to get a shot at a white picket fence
Despite the nightmare on the housing and rental market, things are going slightly better than last year. Potential renters competing for every apartment have dropped from an average of 11 to eight, while places are on the market for an average of six days longer – 38 days.
The occupancy rate has fallen by more than one percent compared to 2022, as four percent more tenants do not want to cancel their lease this year compared to the same time last year.
Even places like Orlando and Miami, where the number of new apartment complexes has exploded, can’t keep up with demand, especially as New Yorkers continue to track new and exciting places in the income-tax-free state.
According to Rent Café, only Milwaukee and Central New Jersey could meet demand.