A widely known aphorism holds that all things are relative; it depends on one’s perspective.
Rent prices, for example.
LinkedIn News reported recently that national median rents reached a record high in August, “up 11% compared with a year earlier.” According to Editor Harriet Sinclair, New York City “has once again topped the list of the most expensive places for renters…”
Rent in the Big Apple soared to a budget-busting $3,930 per month for a one-bedroom apartment in August, “with median prices seeing an increase of 39.9%” year-over-year, and the two-bedroom median is up 46.7%, according to the Zumper National Rent Index. “Price increases are especially drastic in Brooklyn,” where two-bedroom apartment rentals are up 61% year-over-year.
The other most-expensive cities in the U.S. included San Francisco, $3,040 per month for a one-bedroom apartment; San Jose, California, $2,780; Boston, $2,730; San Diego, $2,580; Miami, Florida, $2,520; Los Angeles, $2,450; Washington, D.C., $2,370; Oakland, California, $2,200; and Santa Ana, California, $2,160.
Zumper, a source for finding houses, rooms, condos or apartments for rent, reported that nationally a brutal rental market “is forcing renters to sacrifice on location, size or amenities, move in with roommates, or opt out of the traditional 12-month lease altogether.”
Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Fresno, California, “have seen especially fast price hikes,” Zumper reported. Fresno’s one-bedroom median has shot up 40% year-over-year. Tulsa’s is up 38.9%; to $989 for a one-bedroom apartment and $1,107 for a two-bedroom. A one-bedroom apartment in Kansas City, Missouri, costs $1,000 a month.
At the other end of the spectrum were: Akron, Ohio, where rent for a one-bedroom apartment last month was $650; Wichita, Kansas, $690; Lubbock, Texas, $720; Shreveport, Louisiana, $740; Oklahoma City, $850; Laredo, Texas, $850; Des Moines, Iowa, $880; Syracuse, New York, $880; and El Paso, Texas, $880.
“We’ve got one of the fastest emerging cities in the country,” Grant Cody, director at the Oklahoma Real Estate Commission, told The Oklahoman. Investors from California, New York and Texas are coming into Oklahoma, targeting the most rundown multi-family properties to purchase, he said.
“That’s how they can make the biggest profit margin, and that’s all they care about,” he said.
Oklahoma City is one of the least expensive metropolitan areas in the nation, and rental rates for apartments, condos and rental houses tend to be relatively affordable. As of August 2022, the average apartment rent in Oklahoma City was $731 for a studio, $823-$850 for one bedroom, $1,071 for two bedrooms, and $1,490 for three bedrooms.
In comparison, a quick check on the internet Sept. 5 revealed a wide range of rental prices in Lawton.
One-bedroom apartments commanded prices ranging from $295 and $350 at the low end, $500 to $830 mid-range, to $1,045 up to $1,593 in the upper range. The well-to-do can rent an “apartment home” for $4,392 in east Lawton. For those who prefer a house, three-bedroom rentals in Lawton ranged from $550 to $895.
Texans claim that everything is bigger in the Lone Star State. That includes rent prices for one-bedroom apartments: $1,650 in Austin, $1,430 in Dallas, $1,390 in Irving, $1,190 in Fort Worth, and $1,060 in Arlington.
Although much of the national conversation about inflation has focused on groceries, gasoline and diesel, people shopping for a new home are experiencing sticker shock.
While grocery prices are up 13.1% year-over-year, the highest increase in more than four decades, Zumper’s data show double-digit year-over-year rent hikes in more than half of U.S. cities, with several posting hikes of 30% or more.
“Current asking rents are simply out of reach for many Americans, especially young people,” said Zumper CEO Anthemos Georgiades. “Many renters are turning to short-term rentals to fill a temporary gap in housing, especially if they can’t afford hefty deposits and move-in fees.”
Recent research found that a third of Zumper users are interested in flexible rentals. Of that segment, 35.2% said they use short-term rentals to accommodate a temporary gap in housing, and 84% will eventually end up in a long-term rental.
Zumper’s National Rent Report analyzes rental data from more than one million active listings across the country. Listings are then aggregated on a monthly basis to calculate median asking rents for the top 100 most populous cities.
Homeowner versus renter statistics reflect a decline in homeownership, with 35% of American households renting their home. The nationwide homeownership rate was 65.4% as of the first quarter of Fiscal Year 2022, a 1.53% decline from Q4 FY 2021.
As of the fourth quarter of last year, 78.7 million of a total 122.9 million households owned their homes, while 44.2 million households rented their residences, according to iProperty Management
Other statistics from iProperty Management:
• 54% of renters spend more than 30% of their household income on rent.
• 25% of renters spend more than 50% of their income on rent.
• 28% of homeowners spend more than 30% of their household income on mortgage payments.