Dwellsy Data Shows Rent Increases Accelerating — Rent Up 24% Nationally From April '21 to April '22

LOS ALTOS, Calif., May 4, 2022 (Newswire.com) - April brought yet another acceleration in asking rent, according to Dwellsy's analysis of 533,000 available rentals. Here are the highlights:

• $1,920/mo.: Median asking rent in April across the country
• 3.8%: One-month growth in rent vs. $1,850/mo. in March 2022
• 23.9%: One-year growth in rent vs. $1,550/mo. in April 2021
• 35.1%: Median rent as a share of pre-tax median income

"Two findings particularly jumped out in our analysis this month," said Jonas Bordo, CEO and co-founder of Dwellsy. "First, the dramatic shift in the premium that renters pay to live in single-family rentals. In January 2021, that premium was 2.9%, and now it's 38.1%.

"The second is the increase in the number of cities where renters face extreme hardship as they attempt to afford rent. As recently as August of 2021, we saw nearly 20% of cities where that was the case — 43 of 237. This past month it was up to 40% of cities — 95 of 237. An unprecedented affordability challenge for so many."

As 2022 has progressed, Dwellsy has been observing three trends in rentals, which continued in April:

Trend #1: Renters continue to show a strong preference for single-family homes. As the supply for those types of rentals declines, their corresponding rent prices rise significantly. Single-family rentals alone saw 36% in rent increases over the past year (vs. 5.3% for apartments).  

Trend #2: Rental affordability challenges continue to worsen. Large cities like NYC and Miami typically struggle with affordability (and it's gotten worse in those cities), but smaller, less expensive cities like Kansas City, Brownsville, Texas, and Ithaca, New York, have also crossed into dangerous territory.

Trend #3: Premium rental markets like NYC and San Francisco are seeing extraordinarily high rent prices, causing a shift towards markets where renters can get more value. This puts more pressure on high-profile, secondary cities like Austin and Boulder, while lower-profile, small cities continue to be attractive options for economically conscious renters.

About Dwellsy

Dwellsy is the marketplace that renters want and deserve, a comprehensive residential home rentals marketplace based on the radical concept that true, organic search in a free eco-system creates more value than the pay-to-play model embraced by all of the current rental listing services. Dwellsy has more than 12 million residential rental home listings, more than any legacy classifieds site — as well as the most diverse set of listings — including single-family rentals, condos, townhouses, and apartments at all price points.

For more details, contact [email protected].

Source: Dwellsy