Rents Rise 14% in December—Biggest Jump in Over Two Years

Redfin reports the biggest increase was in Austin, where rents surged 40% from a year earlier

(NASDAQ: RDFN) — Average monthly listed rents in the U.S. increased 14.1% year over year to $1,877 in December, according to a new report from Redfin (redfin.com), the technology-powered real estate brokerage. This was the largest annual jump since at least February 2019—the earliest month in Redfin’s rental data.

Meanwhile, the national monthly mortgage payment for homebuyers climbed 21.6% year over year, also the biggest increase in Redfin’s records.

“The growth in mortgage payments has been driven by both climbing prices and climbing mortgage rates,” said Redfin Chief Economist Daryl Fairweather. “And those rising mortgage costs push more potential homebuyers into renting instead, which pushes up demand and prices for rentals. Mortgage rate increases are accelerating, which will cause both mortgage payments and rent to grow throughout 2022.”

Year–over-year rent-price increases outpaced year-over-year mortgage payment increases for new homebuyers in just 16 of the 50 largest U.S. metro areas in December.

Rents Up Over 30% In Many Major Metro Areas

The 10 metro areas with the biggest increases in rent prices—up 29% year over year or more—were almost exclusively on the East Coast. The only exceptions were Austin, TX and Portland, OR.

Top 10 Metro Areas With Fastest-Rising Rents Year Over Year

1. Austin, TX (40%)
2. Nassau County, NY (35%)
3. New York, NY (35%)
4. Newark, NJ (35%)
5. New Brunswick, NJ (35%)
6. Miami, FL (34%)
7. West Palm Beach, FL (34%)
8. Fort Lauderdale, FL (34%)
9. Jacksonville, FL (31%)
10. Portland, OR (29%)

Just one metro area saw rents fall in December from the same month a year earlier. Rents declined 0.8% in Kansas City, MO.

To read the full report, including charts, additional data and methodology, please visit: https://www.redfin.com/news/redfin-rental-report-december-2021/

About Redfin

Redfin (www.redfin.com) is a technology-powered real estate company. We help people find a place to live with brokerage, instant home-buying (iBuying), rentals, lending, title insurance, and renovations services. We sell homes for more money and charge half the fee. We also run the country's #1 real-estate brokerage site. Our home-buying customers see homes first with on-demand tours, and our lending and title services help them close quickly. Customers selling a home can take an instant cash offer from Redfin or have our renovations crew fix up their home to sell for top dollar. Our rentals business empowers millions nationwide to find apartments and houses for rent. Since launching in 2006, we've saved customers more than $1 billion in commissions. We serve more than 100 markets across the U.S. and Canada and employ over 6,000 people.

For more information or to contact a local Redfin real estate agent, visit www.redfin.com. To learn about housing market trends and download data, visit the Redfin Data Center. To be added to Redfin's press release distribution list, email press@redfin.com. To view Redfin's press center, click here.

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