Press release
Realtor.com® April Rental Report: Rent Growth Slows to its Lowest Rate Since the Onset of the Pandemic
Record-high construction of multi-family homes helps to ease housing shortages SANTA CLARA, Calif., May 18, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Realtor.com® April Rental
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[{"type":"text","content":"Record-high construction of multi-family homes helps to ease housing shortages\nSANTA CLARA, Calif., May 18, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Realtor.com® April Rental Report found that the U.S. rental market experienced single-digit growth for the ninth month in a row after 15 months of slowing. Median rent across the top 50 metros was up just 0.3% year-over-year, the lowest growth rate since the onset of the pandemic. The median asking rent was $1,734, up by $4 from last month, but down by $43 from the peak.\n\"In April, we continued to see rising rent prices and a moderating growth rate. This is promising news for renters, suggesting that the pandemic peaks are behind us, and that the challenging affordability picture may begin to improve,\" said Realtor.com® Chief Economist Danielle Hale. \"We've seen record-high new construction occurring in the multi-family space, which is creating more units, helping to reduce competition and in turn helping to ease prices.\"\nAffordability improves, but prices are still highOne major factor contributing to lower rent prices is a significant increase in multi-family construction. This has helped the vacancy rate reach its highest level (6.4% in Q1 2023) in two years. As more new rental properties are added to the market, the vacancy rate could inch back toward the norms we saw in 2013-2019 (about 7.2%) and would improve affordability for renters. Despite more available rentals and slowing rent growth, average rent still costs $348 (25.1%) more than it would have at this time in 2019.\nSave money by staying putRenters who renew their lease tend to pay less than those who sign a new lease. A 2022 survey from Avail, a Realtor.com® business, found that renters signing a new lease reported a price increase of nearly 27% – about double what people who have been in their rental for 1-2 years experienced (13%). To avoid paying this premium, renters are renewing leases at record-high levels, contributing to a stickier CPI Shelter Index.\n\"Realtor.com® monthly data is based on median asking rents rather than survey responses, which are used in the CPI Index, so CPI data lags behind what we're seeing. The data suggest that easing in the cost of shelter is ahead in future CPI reports. While this could take until 2024 to play out significantly, it will be welcome news for renters and for overall inflation,\"...