Friday, March 28, 2008

Housing Bust = Higher Rent

As the housing market fizzles, rents are on the rise.

According to a recent Business Week article, Cautious Buyers Squeeze Rental Markets, during the past three months rents are up across the country. The highest spike is 3% in San Francisco for an average rent of $1757. It's not not much brighter here. In NYC it rose 2% so far this year, for an average rent of $2657.

Of course, if renters are really paying attention to the housing market, they might want to look at what's happening in their own recently gentrified neighborhood- because if prices fall the competition for that 2BR rental is going to be fierce.

3 comments:

Ms. M&P said...

I remember during the housing boom there were some amazing deals on rent in DC because so many people were buying. I figured when things cooled off the rent prices would creep back up but I didn't think it would happen so quickly or dramatically. I'm sure a lot of people will be unpleasantly surprised when their leases need to be renewed. What a mess.

mysticdomestica said...

Yeah, it's definitely crazy. I was looking at one-bedrooms for $1,200-$1,300 in Sunset Park a few months ago, and now similar apartments are going for $1,400 and up. Urgh.

PiggyBankBlues said...

i know, it's all so fast!