Rent price growth has slowed since the pandemic began impacting real estate markets across the globe earlier this year. According to the April Zillow® Real Estate Market Report, last month the rental markets experienced the biggest growth slowdown in at least five years.
In April, rent growth increased only 2.9 percent, slower than the 3.4 percent growth reported in March. In addition, rents fell month-over-month in 16 major markets. The typical rent in the U.S. is $1,594 right now.
Only two markets are outliers, reporting flat numbers—Columbus and Cleveland. The biggest drops were in Austin (-1.1% MoM), Charlotte (-0.7% MoM), Baltimore (0.6% MoM) and San Jose, Calif. (-0.6% MoM).
“The for-sale market continues to improve and seemingly has the bottom in the rearview mirror, but rent growth has slowed significantly,” said Skylar Olsen, senior principal economist at Zillow. “Housing was in a generally strong position before the pandemic, with low inventory and high prices shutting many would-be buyers out and creating unusually high demand for rentals. Rents soared, making it difficult for many to build emergency savings to tap into at a time like now. We’re seeing rents slow now as some people are no doubt pursuing more-affordable options such as moving back in with parents, moving to a less-expensive area or doubling up in instances where it can be done safely.”
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