Things haven’t looked good for renters in the United States for some time now. The high inflation caused rent costs to shoot sky high, putting an additional strain on an already tight budget. And while some predicted that things might get better later in the year, experts believe this won’t be the case.
Speaking with Yahoo Finance, Alan Detmeister, senior economist and executive director at UBS, said that there is no “quick relief” in sight when it comes to high rent prices. However, Detmeister sees reasons for optimism some next year.
“No quick relief in rent increases,” said Detmeister. “Probably not getting too much worse after the early next year [or] probably peaking early next year but then a long slow, downward pace on rent increases and still staying high through at least the end of 2024.”
The post-pandemic home price hikes have caused people to stay longer in rental markets rather than transitioning to home ownership. This caused a higher demand and lower supply, driving the rent prices to historic levels.
The latest Zumper National Rent Report shows that the median one-bedroom rent is now $1,450, marking an all-time high. This is a 2% increase compared to last month and represents an 11.3% year-over-year jump. Major cities in Tennessee and North Carolina are leading the way when it comes to the pace of rent price increases, while Texas and Arizona are the states associated with rent affordability.