Although rents normally experience a slight decrease in the fall and winter months, Apartment List’s most recent rent report shows the national rent index increased by 0.1% month over month, the second-straight monthly increase after September’s slight dip.
On the other hand, year-over-year (YOY) growth currently stands at 1.3%, which lags the 2.8% rate from last year at this time and the 2.3% rate from November 2016.
“From September to November 2017, our national index fell by 0.2%, while this year it increased by 0.2% over that same period,” say the report's authors. “That said, rent growth has been sluggish for much of this year, so despite bucking the normal seasonal trend recently, year-over-year growth is still lagging the pace from the previous two years.”
The recent uptick, although slight, is reflected in many of the nation’s biggest markets, as well. Of the 100 largest cities, 58 saw rents increase month over month in November 2018, which is down slightly, from 61 cities, from the month prior. In addition, 83 of the 100 cities have seen YOY rent increases.
According to the report, Las Vegas has experienced the nation’s fastest rent growth, with a 4.4% increase from November 2017 to November 2018. Orlando, Fla., takes second place, with a 4% YOY growth rate, and Knoxville, Tenn., comes in third, at 3.3%. Other cities with the fastest-growing rents include Phoenix and Birmingham, Ala.
At the state level, Nevada finished No. 1, with the fastest YOY growth, at 3.7%, followed by Massachusetts, at 3%.
Only 15 of the 100 largest metros have seen rents fall over the past year, a decrease from the 17 cities that had negative YOY growth last month. Cleveland has seen rents fall 2% in the past year, and Buffalo, N.Y., has experienced a 1.5% decrease. State-wise, Hawaii registered a 1.6% decline and was the only state to see YOY rents fall more than 1%.
