Asking apartment rents in the US ticked up on a year-over-year basis last month while rents slipped sequentially, as reported by Redfin. The typical US apartment rent rose 0.6% from September 2023 to $1,634 while dipping 0.2% on a month-to-month basis, according to the real estate brokerage. The report covered newly listed units in buildings with five or more apartments. "Rents remain stable nationally, but could look very different depending on where you live in the country," said Redfin Senior Economist Sheharyar Bokhari.
"On the East Coast and in the Midwest, there hasn't been as much building activity, so asking rents are rising." Washington, D.C. recorded the largest annual rent increase among the 50 most-populous metros tracked by Redfin, with a 12% annual gain to $2,088. Virginia Beach in Virginia and Cleveland, Ohio, followed with increases of more than 11%. Rents have swayed between a tight range of $1,599 to $1,663 for 16 of the past 24 months while wages are advancing by roughly 4% year-to-year.
This data indicates that rent is more affordable now than it was two years ago, according to Redfin. Sun Belt states notched some of the biggest rent decreases in September, led by Jacksonville, Florida, with a roughly 11% decline to $1,485. Rents fell year over year across all bedroom counts for the second time in three months, which Redfin said hadn't occurred in more than four years before July. Government data showed that shelter inflation cooled to a growth rate of 0.2% month to month in September from 0.5% the month prior, while the rent of primary residence eased to a 0.3% growth from 0.4% in August.
Annually, shelter inflation climbed 4.9% last month, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Price: 9.80, Change: -0.43, Percent Change: -4.16.