In many U.S. cities, rent prices are increasing year-over-year, rather than declining. New data show that only six of the 250 markets analyzed had rental price declines. The biggest decline, 6.3 percent, was in Lubbock, Texas.
Of the markets with the biggest year-over-year increases in rental prices, the smallest increase was at 7.6 percent in Detroit, Boise, Idaho, and Fairfield, California. The largest year-over-year price increases in National Mortgage News' report was in Midland, Texas at 31.4 percent, and Odessa, Texas at 35 percent. The average rent in Midland was $1,303, while the average rent in Odessa was $1,153.
The national average monthly rent for all unit types hit $1,361 in January, a 2.8 percent increase from the same period last year, according to apartment listing website RentCafe. And with apartment rents growing in 89 percent of the nation's biggest cities this month, renters may be even more tempted by homeownership. Rising rents could suggest the homebuyer pool is about to get even bigger at a time when demand in the housing market is already far outpacing supply.
