The year 2021 was filled with many events. A pandemic continued, following, there was a coup attempt, a new leader, inflation… and then the rents skyrocketed. The 2021 Annual Rent Report from rental marketplace Zumper shows that rents are increasing across the board.
A one-bedroom apartment increased 11.6% in rent over the past year, according to the report. Meanwhile, apartments with two bedrooms increased by 13.6%.
The drop in rent prices follows people fleeing big cities in favor of quieter lifestyles during the Pandemic. However, according to Zumper, US rents were even higher than they were before 2021.
In 2021, New York ranked first among the most expensive cities to rent in. Zumper’s data shows that entering 2020, the rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Big Apple was down 17.5%. However, after the vaccine became available, people started returning, resulting in rent rising again. As of this month, it is up 11.9%.
For the first time since Zumper began collecting data in 2014, New York outperformed San Francisco in rental rates.
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You should probably arm yourself with information like this before you pack up the moving trucks, whether you’ve been thinking about moving or just got a job in a new city.
Rent for a one-bedroom in these 10 cities is the most expensive among renters right now:
- New York, NY — $3,190
- San Francisco, California — $2,810
- Boston, Massachusetts — $2,590
- San Jose, California — $2,310
- Miami, Florida — $2,280
- Los Angeles, California — $2,200
- Washington, D.C. — $2,200
- San Diego, California — $2,160
- Oakland, California — $2,030
- Fort Lauderdale, Florida — $2,020
It isn’t the fact that rent is rising that is the most noteworthy finding of Zumper’s report, it is the pace at which it is increasing. As a rule, annual increases aren’t quite as high as they used to be. However, the circumstances surrounding a global pandemic are very unique.
After plummeting during 2020, rent has returned to pre-pandemic levels and, in many cases, has even exceeded them. Currently, there are record-high rents in cities along the East Coast. Additionally, the rental market is becoming increasingly competitive.
To note, tenants have to fill out more than one application for rental housing than last year, according to data.
