US rents hit a record high for the 17th month in a row

[Sympthsical]

I'm so glad I have a mortgage locked in at 1.99%.

Rents hit a record high in July for the 17th month in a row, putting ever more pressure on renters.

The national median rent hit a new record high of $1,879 a month in July, up 12.3% from a year ago, according to Realtor.com. While rents have been hitting new records for nearly a year and a half, there are some early signs that the market may be starting to cool off: July marked the sixth-straight month of moderating growth, retreating from a 17% year-over-year rent increase in January.

Still, rents rose by double-digit percentages in all size categories in July compared to a year ago, with monthly rents for studios up 14.3% to $1,555; one-bedrooms, up 12.2% to $1,745; and two-bedrooms, up 11.7% to $2,103.

The South and Northeast have seen the largest rent increases. Miami, where rents were up 26.2% from a year ago, saw the biggest increase among the 50 largest US cities for the 10th-straight month. Miami was followed by New York, Boston, Chicago, and Orlando.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/24/homes/us-rents-record-july/index.html

[Samrob]

1. Truly, this is a national disgrace. Especially when you look into who OWNS the rental properties.

National laws that need to be changed as to who can actually own large scale rental properties, state development rules and regulations, We need to elect more for-the-people Dems to state and local governments, especially county councils. There was a time here in Montgomery County Maryland when development builders had to set aside a certain number of units for low-income families. They were mainstreamed in housing developments so that you never knew who they were. We must get back to fighting to elect officials who actually care about ALL their constituents.

[Sympthsical]

2. And once increased, rents tend not to decrease

In six cities across two continents, I've never had a landlord lower my rent. I've never heard from any friends and family who have had that happen.

Once they're up, they're going to stay up. Apartments aren't gas prices.

[BComplex]

10. This is so critical for our country. We also have Saudi's and russian oligarchs buying up all our

real estate. It's getting extremely dangerous, not just because of the financial issues we're seeing now, but for what they can do to bring down our economy from within. The Saudis now own aquifers in Arizona, and a shitload of refineries in Texas.

We're in a bad position (that's getting worse) to be squeezed to death.

[MontanaMama]

3. We own a little duplex

here in town. We’ve owned it since 1994. I gutted both sides a few years back and updated the kitchens and bathrooms and re-did the hardwood floors. I haven’t raised rents in 5 years. I could, I guess….but I just haven’t. We’ve been so fortunate to have long term renters throughout the years. Our property taxes are going up by 12% next year so I will probably have to bump it up a little bit…I haven’t crunched the numbers yet. 12% is a big jump and I’ll have to shoulder that on the duplex, my personal home and at our business as well. I know there are rentals owned by millionaires and billionaires…but I thought I’d mention that some of them are owned by people like me.

ETA: I am very aware that many many properties have been bought up by corporate interests and renters are being gouged on rents. It’s happening in my community too.

[Sympthsical]

5. You sound like my old landlord

Somehow I lucked out into a place where the rent was affordable and the landlord was human. Whenever there was a rent increase, my landlord would print out a list of how the building's expenses increased, tax increases, etc, and give them to us. We could call him and ask about it if we had questions.

But we could go through and see, "Yeah, that increase makes sense." Some years, he didn't increase at all. When he did, it wasn't some crazy exorbitant amount. "This is what I'm paying, so this is what I'm asking."

Those kinds of landlords are rarer than they ought to be.

[Celerity]

4. 'Miami, where rents were up 26.2% from a year ago'.......you would have riots all across vast parts

of the EU if that level of increase was widespread and continued. Thankfully, that type of increase is outlawed in many places here (universally outlawed here in Sweden, you would never see it). Sweden has other crazy bad housing issues though, unfortunately. It is BY FAR the most fucked up thing here, nothing else is remotely close.

[Sympthsical]

7. One interesting aspect of the article

How urban and suburban rents are growing closer to parity.

During Covid, people here in the Bay Area scattered to the suburbs and exburbs once they no longer had to work in the city. It drove everything sky high. Home values are beginning to fall slightly with the interest rate increases, but rents have stayed exactly where they were driven up to. $2,250 starting for a one bedroom in a suburb 45 mins outside the city with no connection to the major transportation network. (I tried taking a bus to the train to the city one time. Once. I decided I did not have 2.5 hours one way allowance in my life ever for anything).

I have a nephew whose girlfriend just got a job at Stanford as a nurse. They just got a one bedroom in San Jose. $3,100.

That's almost literally my mortgage for my five bedroom. We bought one month before Covid hit, before the great migration. Now, North Bay is building up to becoming a Silicon Valley for biotech. Genentech is up here, and other companies are building all around. I have no idea what that's going to do with housing prices that already increased 40% during Covid.

My partner and I always have a discussion, "Maybe we should downsize. This is a lot for two people." Then we realize how much this house will probably be worth in 5-10 years and think, "Or we can just stay in what will more or less be a lucrative retirement fund."

[Celerity]

9. yes, do NOT sell

[mnhtnbb]

6. The 2 BR apartment I moved out of in Jan 2021

now rents for $500/mo MORE than what I was paying. I was fortunate to be able to buy a house and qualify for a 2.3% 15 year mortgage, which I'm planning to have paid off by 2030, if I live that long. I'll turn 80 in 2031!

[Sympthsical]

8. Very nice!

Yeah, I keep wanting to check what my old apartment is going for now. I bet it's a lot more. We bought in Dec 2019, which was some timing lemme tell you.

We did a 15 year at 2.2%. However, with valuation increases, etc., we refinanced last fall to 1.99% and knocked several years off the thing. He wants to retire in ten years, and I still have 20-25 years left in my working life, lol. But it will be nice to not go into retirement not owing on anything.

And I will be very, very, very lucky to be in that situation. I have friends in their 40s with basically no real retirement going for them yet. I have no idea what they'll do.

[JoanofArgh]

11. Same thing is happening in England.

[Celerity]

13. you might want to have a re-think on that user name, m8

[Celerity]

15. come up with better material

enjoy your stay

[andym]

16. Real estate bubble is contributing to inflation

Rents rising because of high mortgages among other things. A correction is due because the rate of housing valuation increase deviated too strongly from historical trends.