Apartment Rents Stabilize in November Around the Country, While Mid-Sized Markets Remain Active

Key takeaways:

• Rents were consistent for the month, coming in at $1,358 – just 2.5 percent higher than this time last year, according to data from Yardi Matrix.
• 83% of the nation’s biggest cities have seen rents grow in the last year, 14% saw rents remain steady, while only 3% experienced rent drops compared to 2016. 
• America’s smaller cities are continuing to see the biggest price increases y-o-y, with the Lone Star State’s Odessa and Midland leading the pack. 
• Month-over-month rents are down across all sized units, including studios, one-bedrooms, two-bedrooms, and three-bedrooms.

Stability was the name of the game in November, with not only the national rent staying stable, but also the rents of the nation’s most volatile markets. Whether it’s a result of the renting off-season or a sign of changing tides is yet to be seen. It may take a few more months until we have an answer.

Rent is slightly down across all unit sizes for the month, but still up compared to last year

Rents are down for all sized apartments – at least month over month. Since October, studio apartments, one-bedrooms, two-bedrooms, and three-bedrooms have all dipped 0.1 percent. Seeing that two unit sizes saw rents either rise or stay steady back in October, this is good news for renters of all budgets.

Over the year, rents have risen on all four unit sizes, though not drastically. Studios have grown the least since 2016, rising 2.4 percent to $1,196 per month. Three-bedroom rents grew by 2.7 percent ($1,332), two-bedroom rents up 2.9 percent ($1,332), and prices for one-bedrooms increased by a full 3 percent year over year ($1,166).

Bedroom Type	Average Rent	Change M-o-M	Change Y-o-Y
Studio	$1,196	-0.1%	2.4%
1 Bed	$1,166	-0.1%	3.0%
2 Beds	$1,332	-0.1%	2.9%
3 Beds	$1,560	-0.1%	2.7%

Rents in trendsetter markets are going down or growing slower than the national average

Renters in nine of the nation’s 250 biggest cities are in luck; rents are down – in some cities as much as 7.7 percent over the year. Lubbock, TX rents have dropped the most since 2016, falling nearly 8 percent to just $891 per month. Fellow southern towns Norman, OK and McAllen, TX also saw rent drops of 2.6 percent and 2.3 percent, respectively. Rents in McAllen were just $761 per month in November.

Apartment rents in many large cities such as Chicago, Atlanta, Houston, Boston, Philadelphia, Miami, Washington DC, San Francisco, Austin and other markets of similar size have increased by less than the national average year over year. In some spots they’re even falling — in two of New York City’s most populated boroughs (Brooklyn and Manhattan), as well as in hot market Portland. On the other hand, a few big markets remain strong. In Los Angeles, Seattle, and Fort Worth rents climbed by over 5% over the year.

Other cities to see rents drop in November were New Orleans; Kansas City, KS; and Amarillo, TX. Nearly twice as many cities as last month saw rents decline.

U.S. Cities Where Rents Decreased Y-o-Y in November 2017

#	City	State	Change Y-o-Y	Average Rent
1	Lubbock	TX	-7.7%	$891
2	Norman	OK	-2.6%	$857
3	McAllen	TX	-2.3%	$761
4	Brooklyn (New York City)	NY	-2.0%	$2,695
5	Manhattan (New York City)	NY	-1.9%	$4,089
6	New Orleans	LA	-1.4%	$1,085
7	Portland	OR	-1.2%	$1,431
8	Kansas City	KS	-1.2%	$754
9	Amarillo	TX	-1.1%	$724

Small Texas towns lead the pack when it comes to rent growth

Apartments in Texas oil and gas towns Midland and Odessa continue to get pricier in November in a sustained rally to recover after the local market reached a low in 2016. Odessa came in with rents of $1,111 last month – a whopping 33.2 percent higher than last year’s numbers. Midland rents jumped 25.6 percent over the year, hitting $1,274 for the month.

The rest of the fastest-growing rents list is dominated by cities in the West and Northeast, with California claiming five of the remaining spots. Buffalo, NY rents rose 11.4 percent over the last year, while Yonkers, NY rents increased 10.4 percent. Lancaster, Sacramento, Modesto, Victorville and Ventura, CA all saw rents rise nearly 8 percent or higher. Insufficient rental supply and weak construction activity are the common denominators in these markets.

U.S. Cities with the Fastest Growing Rents in November 2017

#	City	State	Change Y-o-Y	Average Rent
1	Odessa	TX	33.2%	$1,111
2	Midland	TX	25.6%	$1,274
3	Buffalo	NY	11.4%	$1,017
4	Lancaster	CA	11.2%	$1,167
5	Yonkers	NY	10.4%	$1,909
6	Reno	NV	9.9%	$1,121
7	Sacramento	CA	9.1%	$1,289
8	Modesto	CA	8.6%	$1,146
9	Victorville	CA	8.1%	$1,037
10	Ventura	CA	7.9%	$1,866

West Coast, Northeast remain highest-priced markets, while Midwest acts affordably

As the nation’s most expensive markets are absorbing the new apartments delivered this year, prices stayed the same for November, though many actually saw rents decrease over the month – if ever so slightly. Manhattan claimed the No. 1 spot, with the country’s highest rent of $4,089 – nearly $700 more than the No. 2-ranked San Francisco. Bay Area residents pay just over $3,400 a month.

Massachusetts’ biggest markets – Boston and Cambridge – once again took the No. 3 and 4 spots, with rents of $3,262 and $3,037, respectively. (Though if you look at Massachusetts’ highest-rent ZIP codes, these rents are a steal.)

Likely to no one’s surprise, five California cities made the list, including San Mateo, Sunnyvale, Santa Clara and San Jose, while two Northeasterly towns – Jersey City and Brooklyn — rounded out the remaining top 10.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, you have Wichita, KS, where rents are nearly seven times less than those in costly Manhattan. Toledo, OH rents aren’t far behind either, coming in at $667 for the month. The two have dominated the nation’s lowest rents list for some time now.

Other low-cost areas are spread across the South and Midwest. Three Texas towns – Brownsville, Killeen and Amarillo – made the list, while metros in Oklahoma, Missouri, Indiana and Ohio filled out the rest. Tulsa, OK took the No. 3 spot with rents of just $680 in November.

Urban cores see rents stabilize – or at least come close to it

It seems America’s most volatile markets – largely urban centers located in the West and Northeast – are finally settling down. Though Manhattan’s sky-high rents remain the country’s most expensive month after month, they’ve actually dipped over the year – and they stayed steady from October to November.

San Francisco rents rose just 0.2 percent over the month and only 1.1 percent for the year. Similar stories ring true for Boston, Cambridge, and Brooklyn, where rents rose incrementally over the year and little to none for the month.

Many of the nation’s more hyperactive markets even saw declines in November. In Sunnyvale, CA, for example, rents fell nearly a full percent over the month (though they rose 5 percent since 2016). Rents also dropped in volatile San Mateo, San Jose and Santa Clara, CA, as well as Jersey City, NJ.

Yardi Matrix Senior Analyst Doug Ressler explains some of the factors that have an influence on rent prices this year and in the following year: “Multifamily remains the strongest sector by a variety of metrics, including investment sales volume, and analysts expect a deceleration in rent growth as the markets absorb new supply. Housing demographics continue to favor renting with a continued robust delivery pipeline. Yardi-Matrix notes that 300,000 apartment units are expected to come online for 2017 and 360,000 in 2018. This amount of new supply exceeds previous national levels over the last twenty years. Thirty-one percent of those new apartments will be delivered in the South Atlantic, followed by 25% in the West and 19% in the South West. The Northeast and Midwest will round it out with 14% and 12%.” 

Check out the average price of rent in your city by using this interactive table:

City	State	Average Rent	Change M-o-M	Change Y-o-Y
Manhattan (New York City)	NY	$4,089	0.00%	-1.90%
San Francisco	CA	$3,432	0.20%	1.10%
Boston	MA	$3,262	0.00%	2.00%
Cambridge	MA	$3,037	0.10%	1.30%
San Mateo	CA	$3,021	-0.10%	1.00%
Jersey City	NJ	$2,822	-0.10%	1.80%
Sunnyvale	CA	$2,735	-0.80%	5.00%
Brooklyn (New York City)	NY	$2,695	0.00%	-2.00%
Santa Clara	CA	$2,692	-0.40%	2.70%
San Jose	CA	$2,608	-0.50%	2.20%
Oakland	CA	$2,525	-0.50%	1.80%
Daly City	CA	$2,485	0.00%	4.10%
Irvine	CA	$2,401	0.30%	3.90%
Glendale	CA	$2,393	0.00%	3.30%
Stamford	CT	$2,388	0.90%	0.90%
Pasadena	CA	$2,380	-0.50%	3.30%
Fremont	CA	$2,330	-0.10%	1.30%
Los Angeles	CA	$2,285	-0.30%	5.20%
Burbank	CA	$2,210	-0.10%	5.50%
Carlsbad	CA	$2,169	-0.30%	3.80%
Washington	DC	$2,090	-0.10%	1.40%
Arlington	VA	$2,058	-0.20%	-0.40%
Thousand Oaks	CA	$2,052	0.10%	6.60%
Bellevue	WA	$2,048	-0.90%	0.60%
San Diego	CA	$2,045	1.10%	4.00%
Hayward	CA	$2,033	-0.10%	2.90%
Huntington Beach	CA	$2,007	0.00%	2.80%
Costa Mesa	CA	$1,998	0.20%	2.80%
Seattle	WA	$1,977	-0.60%	5.10%
Orange	CA	$1,953	-0.10%	-0.70%
Yonkers	NY	$1,909	0.10%	10.40%
Simi Valley	CA	$1,904	0.10%	1.00%
Concord	CA	$1,883	0.00%	3.50%
Long Beach	CA	$1,871	-0.30%	2.40%
Ventura	CA	$1,866	-0.10%	7.90%
Santa Rosa	CA	$1,848	0.00%	4.60%
Santa Ana	CA	$1,836	0.20%	3.90%
Santa Clarita	CA	$1,830	0.80%	1.40%
Boulder	CO	$1,825	-0.40%	5.60%
Oxnard	CA	$1,820	-0.20%	4.20%
Fort Lauderdale	FL	$1,817	-0.10%	6.60%
Fullerton	CA	$1,803	-0.10%	4.00%
Miramar	FL	$1,799	0.50%	1.50%
Chicago	IL	$1,790	-0.30%	2.50%
Torrance	CA	$1,777	-0.30%	5.10%
Rancho Cucamonga	CA	$1,742	-0.20%	3.10%
Anaheim	CA	$1,719	-0.10%	4.80%
West Covina	CA	$1,718	-1.00%	7.80%
Vallejo	CA	$1,706	-0.20%	4.90%
Fairfield	CA	$1,692	0.10%	7.20%
Oceanside	CA	$1,687	-0.40%	3.90%
Vista	CA	$1,687	-0.20%	4.10%
Davie	FL	$1,653	0.30%	-0.50%
Alexandria	VA	$1,652	-0.40%	-0.80%
Garden Grove	CA	$1,644	0.10%	3.20%
New Haven	CT	$1,643	0.70%	5.10%
Chula Vista	CA	$1,635	-0.10%	5.30%
Corona	CA	$1,625	0.50%	6.40%
Coral Springs	FL	$1,613	0.60%	-0.50%
Pembroke Pines	FL	$1,612	0.70%	2.40%
Murrieta	CA	$1,597	-0.20%	4.60%
Miami	FL	$1,596	-0.30%	1.40%
Roseville	CA	$1,592	-0.40%	5.20%
Ontario	CA	$1,581	0.10%	2.60%
Renton	WA	$1,574	-0.60%	4.90%
Temecula	CA	$1,563	-0.30%	4.30%
Edison	NJ	$1,559	0.10%	4.20%
Salinas	CA	$1,545	-0.60%	5.80%
Santa Maria	CA	$1,519	0.50%	6.30%
Denver	CO	$1,511	-0.40%	3.20%
Escondido	CA	$1,504	-0.60%	5.40%
Philadelphia	PA	$1,497	-0.20%	1.90%
Hillsboro	OR	$1,470	-0.40%	0.80%
Minneapolis	MN	$1,470	-0.30%	3.20%
Ann Arbor	MI	$1,469	0.40%	4.90%
Riverside	CA	$1,441	0.10%	5.70%
Naperville	IL	$1,437	0.80%	2.40%
Pomona	CA	$1,433	0.10%	0.80%
Portland	OR	$1,431	-0.70%	-1.20%
Fort Collins	CO	$1,426	-0.20%	5.60%
El Cajon	CA	$1,422	-0.10%	4.30%
Lakewood	CO	$1,408	-0.90%	3.20%
Sandy Springs	GA	$1,388	-0.30%	2.70%
Moreno Valley	CA	$1,383	0.30%	4.00%
Kent	WA	$1,380	-0.70%	6.00%
Westminster	CO	$1,377	-0.70%	2.50%
West Palm Beach	FL	$1,352	1.00%	5.50%
Thornton	CO	$1,350	-0.70%	2.70%
Atlanta	GA	$1,344	-0.60%	2.40%
Everett	WA	$1,342	-0.90%	3.20%
Pompano Beach	FL	$1,335	0.10%	4.70%
Frisco	TX	$1,332	0.30%	2.40%
Scottsdale	AZ	$1,331	0.80%	5.20%
Richardson	TX	$1,325	0.50%	2.20%
Hollywood	FL	$1,319	1.00%	2.30%
Arvada	CO	$1,317	-0.40%	6.00%
Orlando	FL	$1,304	0.00%	5.80%
Austin	TX	$1,300	-0.20%	0.00%
Sacramento	CA	$1,289	0.30%	9.10%
Aurora	CO	$1,280	-0.50%	5.40%
Midland	TX	$1,274	1.80%	25.60%
Pearland	TX	$1,272	0.20%	1.60%
Aurora	IL	$1,271	0.50%	0.60%
Hialeah	FL	$1,265	0.20%	4.00%
Nashville	TN	$1,263	0.00%	1.50%
Plano	TX	$1,261	0.50%	1.00%
Manchester	NH	$1,244	-0.30%	2.60%
Eugene	OR	$1,243	-0.40%	3.10%
Tempe	AZ	$1,234	0.20%	3.80%
Baltimore	MD	$1,234	-0.20%	4.40%
St. Petersburg	FL	$1,233	-0.30%	6.60%
Vancouver	WA	$1,230	-0.30%	4.20%
Charleston	SC	$1,223	-1.30%	-0.20%
McKinney	TX	$1,222	0.50%	1.80%
Fontana	CA	$1,216	0.30%	6.90%
Gresham	OR	$1,209	-0.30%	1.60%
Tampa	FL	$1,207	0.00%	3.30%
College Station	TX	$1,199	-0.80%	-0.20%
Hartford	CT	$1,197	1.20%	3.50%
Rialto	CA	$1,189	0.10%	4.70%
Madison	WI	$1,186	0.00%	1.30%
Tacoma	WA	$1,186	-0.30%	7.30%
Elizabeth	NJ	$1,180	0.30%	6.90%
Newark	NJ	$1,173	0.40%	4.30%
Chandler	AZ	$1,167	0.40%	6.60%
Lancaster	CA	$1,167	0.10%	11.30%
Chesapeake	VA	$1,163	0.20%	3.50%
Tallahassee	FL	$1,159	0.10%	2.90%
Gainesville	FL	$1,158	0.30%	3.60%
Virginia Beach	VA	$1,157	-0.10%	3.00%
Henderson	NV	$1,155	0.40%	7.00%
Denton	TX	$1,151	-0.50%	2.00%
Charlotte	NC	$1,147	0.30%	3.40%
Dallas	TX	$1,146	0.10%	4.30%
Gilbert	AZ	$1,146	0.00%	6.10%
Modesto	CA	$1,146	0.30%	8.60%
Pittsburgh	PA	$1,143	-0.80%	1.70%
Carrollton	TX	$1,142	0.10%	2.10%
Cary	NC	$1,135	-0.20%	2.30%
San Bernardino	CA	$1,132	0.10%	5.70%
Brandon	FL	$1,131	-0.20%	2.40%
Reno	NV	$1,121	0.00%	9.90%
Salt Lake City	UT	$1,115	0.30%	4.70%
Round Rock	TX	$1,113	-0.30%	-0.70%
Raleigh	NC	$1,112	-0.10%	2.30%
Odessa	TX	$1,111	1.60%	33.20%
Clearwater	FL	$1,109	-0.10%	2.90%
Milwaukee	WI	$1,108	-0.20%	2.40%
Irving	TX	$1,102	-0.30%	4.00%
Lewisville	TX	$1,090	-0.70%	-0.50%
West Jordan	UT	$1,088	0.50%	3.50%
New Orleans	LA	$1,085	-0.90%	-1.40%
Colorado Springs	CO	$1,075	-0.70%	6.40%
Stockton	CA	$1,073	0.20%	7.10%
Durham	NC	$1,072	-0.20%	3.50%
West Valley City	UT	$1,072	1.00%	4.40%
Houston	TX	$1,069	0.10%	2.10%
Greeley	CO	$1,067	-0.20%	5.60%
Murfreesboro	TN	$1,065	-0.20%	2.70%
Syracuse	NY	$1,060	0.50%	1.50%
Baton Rouge	LA	$1,049	0.00%	-0.90%
Fort Worth	TX	$1,044	-0.10%	5.40%
Wilmington	NC	$1,037	-0.30%	1.50%
Victorville	CA	$1,037	0.30%	8.10%
Overland Park	KS	$1,034	-0.40%	2.40%
Norfolk	VA	$1,033	-0.40%	2.20%
Grand Prairie	TX	$1,030	-0.30%	4.90%
Peoria	AZ	$1,030	0.30%	6.40%
Clovis	CA	$1,023	0.10%	5.60%
Buffalo	NY	$1,017	0.30%	11.40%
Richmond	VA	$1,016	-0.20%	3.80%
Cleveland	OH	$1,011	-0.30%	3.70%
Boise	ID	$1,010	-0.40%	5.10%
Savannah	GA	$1,009	-0.20%	1.80%
Columbia	SC	$1,000	0.20%	4.00%
Detroit	MI	$996	0.40%	6.20%
Jacksonville	FL	$994	0.30%	5.30%
Hampton	VA	$993	-0.60%	1.70%
Fresno	CA	$986	0.20%	6.40%
San Antonio	TX	$979	0.00%	1.90%
Rochester	NY	$975	0.00%	1.70%
Corpus Christi	TX	$974	0.70%	2.10%
Lakeland	FL	$972	-0.20%	4.30%
North Las Vegas	NV	$968	0.40%	7.10%
Las Vegas	NV	$966	0.40%	6.60%
Salem	OR	$966	-0.40%	7.10%
North Charleston	SC	$963	-0.80%	0.50%
Garland	TX	$963	0.00%	5.00%
Grand Rapids	MI	$962	0.00%	4.10%
Arlington	TX	$961	-0.20%	6.00%
Knoxville	TN	$954	-0.50%	2.90%
Waco	TX	$944	-0.50%	-0.80%
Kansas City	MO	$940	0.10%	2.40%
Cincinnati	OH	$935	-0.30%	3.40%
Phoenix	AZ	$935	0.00%	4.70%
Bakersfield	CA	$932	0.20%	1.30%
Waterbury	CT	$922	0.90%	1.90%
Mesquite	TX	$919	-0.90%	2.60%
Birmingham	AL	$918	-0.70%	4.10%
Lincoln	NE	$911	-0.60%	1.50%
Chattanooga	TN	$904	-0.20%	1.50%
Newport News	VA	$901	-0.10%	0.80%
Spokane	WA	$900	0.50%	5.80%
South Bend	IN	$896	1.90%	3.80%
Mesa	AZ	$894	-0.10%	4.00%
Lubbock	TX	$891	0.20%	-7.70%
Louisville	KY	$888	-0.20%	2.10%
Sterling Heights	MI	$888	-0.10%	5.30%
Metairie	LA	$887	-0.50%	0.60%
Olathe	KS	$887	0.00%	3.10%
St. Louis	MO	$880	0.00%	2.60%
Columbus	OH	$878	0.10%	5.20%
Lexington	KY	$876	0.20%	2.00%
Des Moines	IA	$872	0.40%	6.70%
Omaha	NE	$865	-0.50%	1.70%
Glendale	AZ	$865	-0.10%	6.00%
Norman	OK	$857	-1.20%	-2.60%
Pasadena	TX	$846	0.40%	4.10%
Albuquerque	NM	$840	-0.20%	2.80%
Greensboro	NC	$839	0.00%	3.30%
Paradise	NV	$830	0.50%	5.20%
Columbus	GA	$828	0.40%	0.40%
Akron	OH	$822	-0.10%	2.10%
Indianapolis	IN	$815	-0.10%	3.00%
Tucson	AZ	$799	0.40%	4.90%
Broken Arrow	OK	$792	-0.30%	-0.30%
Winston-Salem	NC	$792	-0.30%	5.30%
Las Cruces	NM	$785	0.00%	0.80%
Macon	GA	$784	0.50%	5.10%
Lansing	MI	$778	0.80%	1.40%
Mobile	AL	$775	0.00%	0.90%
Warren	MI	$773	0.40%	3.20%
Little Rock	AR	$767	-0.10%	0.40%
Augusta	GA	$765	0.50%	1.70%
McAllen	TX	$761	-0.10%	-2.30%
Jackson	MS	$756	-0.70%	3.10%
Kansas City	KS	$754	0.10%	-1.20%
High Point	NC	$750	-1.10%	1.60%
El Paso	TX	$744	-0.10%	0.70%
Memphis	TN	$742	-0.10%	2.80%
Wichita	KS	$631	0.00%	1.00%
Toledo	OH	$667	-0.20%	0.90%
Tulsa	OK	$679	-0.20%	0.70%
Brownsville	TX	$691	0.10%	0.90%
Killeen	TX	$695	-0.10%	2.20%
Independence	MO	$719	0.10%	1.80%
Fort Wayne	IN	$723	-1.00%	3.60%
Amarillo	TX	$724	-0.60%	-1.10%
Oklahoma City	OK	$728	-0.30%	0.00%
Dayton	OH	$730	-0.30%	3.70%

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About RentCafe and How We Compiled the Data

RentCafe is a nationwide apartment search website that enables renters to easily find apartments and houses for rent throughout the United States.

To compile this report, RentCafe’s research team analyzed rent data across the 250 cities in the US. The report is exclusively based on apartment data related to buildings containing 50 or more units. Our report includes cities with populations over 100,000 and a rental stock of at least 2,900 apartments in 50+ unit buildings.

Rent data was provided by Yardi Matrix, a business development and asset management tool for brokers, sponsors, banks and equity sources underwriting investments in the multifamily, office, industrial and self-storage sectors. Rental rate coverage is for Market Rate properties only. Fully Affordable properties are not included in the Yardi Matrix rental surveys and are not reported in rental rate averages.

Starting with the January rent survey, Yardi Matrix is using a methodology that incorporates more properties into the sample which caused slight changes in overall rents and year-over-year changes compared to the previous reports. We expect this methodology adjustment to produce more accurate averages at the national and metro levels.

*National averages include 124 markets across the US, as reported by Yardi Matrix.