The national rental rates for both one and two-bedrooms are up on a monthly basis for the first time in 6 months, according to a new Zumper report, which mirrors other predictions of rents now increasing.
The report covers 100 cities nationwide, with data aggregated from over one million active listings, and includes a National Rent Index for one- and two-bedroom units.
Highlights
- March marks the end of the slow-moving season as the national rates for both one and two-bedrooms grew on a monthly basis for the first time in 6 months.
- The rate increase in the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) data indicates that inflation is sticking around for longer than previously expected and the recent uptick shown in Zumper’s National Rent Index suggests that even more pressure will be put on the CPI in the coming months.
- Meanwhile, New York City had the largest annual rent price growth rate in the nation with one-bedroom rent up 24.6%.
“Annually speaking, Zumper’s national rates have remained relatively flat with one-bedrooms down a slight 0.5% and two-bedrooms up 0.8%. While the historic amount of new apartment supply hitting the U.S. market coupled with the lessened demand from the winter months have contributed to the market’s current overall flatness, the skyrocketing rates that were seen in 2021 and 2022, when 2 years of pent-up demand from the pandemic hit the market, have not been offset.
“The current national rent rates are still up 22% for one-bedrooms and 26% for two-bedrooms, when compared to March 2020,” the report says.
“Inflation’s stickiness” at the same time as growing national rent rates will put more pressure on the Consumer Price Index, the report says.
“There is a lagging nature to the CPI’s shelter cost component since it measures existing paid rents as part of its calculation, not just current asking rents,” Zumper CEO Anthemos Georgiades said in a release. “Zumper’s National Rent Index serves as a leading indicator of shelter CPI since our data measures asking rents today. Zumper’s national rates showed an increase for the first time in 6 months. Coupled with the current stickiness of inflation, this suggests that there will be even more pressure put on the CPI in the coming months.”
Read the full report here