Economy Watch: Apartment Rents Stabilize in Summer
September 6, 2017 | D.C. Stribling | Commercial Property Executive
After falling through the first quarter, the U.S. national median rent has stabilized in recent months, climbing in September to its highest point of 2017: $1,018, though that’s up only a bit from January, when the median was $1,016. That’s according to the latest ABODO report on apartment rents, which the company released on Tuesday.
Cleveland experienced the greatest rent hike in August, with median one-bedroom rents jumping 12.8 percent, from $619 to $698. This is the second straight month of significant increases in Cleveland, after the market saw rents increase 5 percent in July. Rents in Santa Ana, Calif., also rose for the second straight month, from $1,673 to $1,816 (up 8.5 percent), as did Columbus, Ohio (up 4.1 percent); Honolulu (up 3.5 percent); and Baltimore (up 3.4 percent).
For the second month in a row, Glendale, Ariz., saw the largest monthly drop in rents, down 9.5 percent to $673. Other cities in the top five this month and last month for rent declines were St. Paul, Minn. (down 5.2 percent to $1,067); Tulsa, Okla. (down 4.6 percent); and Buffalo, N.Y. (down 3.8 percent). The only newcomer to the decline list was Houston, where the median one-bedroom price dropped 6.5 percent, from $1,184 to $1,107.
