The median rent for a one-bedroom apartment in New York City rose 12.8% year over year to $4,500 in August, marking an all-time high for the second month in a row. In contrast, the median rent for a one-bedroom apartment nationwide rose 1.6% to $1,534, according to Zumper’s National Rent Index.
New York was followed by Jersey City, New Jersey, with a median rent for a one-bedroom apartment of $3,400, and San Francisco reached a four-year high in median rent for a one-bedroom apartment at $3,160.
According to the index, median rent for two-bedroom apartments rose 2.7% nationwide in August to $1,915. Both one- and two-bedroom rents rose 0.2% nationwide from the previous month.
Zumper said rising national prices underscore “tremendous rental demand” across the country, even at a time of rising supply. Many multifamily operators are reporting high resident retention this year, with few people leaving the rental market to buy homes. The U.S. rental vacancy rate has remained steady at 6.6% in the first half of the year.
“At a time when new housing supply is breaking records, it is notable that vacancy rates have remained stable this year,” said Anthemos Georgiades, CEO of Zumper. “Strong tenant retention and our growing national rent index underscore robust demand in the U.S. market.”
In New York, the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment has nearly doubled since January 2021, when it hit an all-time low of $2,350. By 2023, the city’s vacancy rate had fallen to 1.4%, the lowest since 1968, indicating a shortage of available housing. A revival of urban life and a return to the office are bringing suburbanites back to the city, and the peak summer moving season is putting further upward pressure on rents, Zumper said.
The increase in median rent in San Francisco is notable because price levels have remained relatively constant at $3,000 over the past two years. Recent rent growth may signal a rebound from 2021, when occupancy rates fell to 92.2%, Zumper said.
Some of the cities with the highest annual rent growth rates nationwide have been college towns that have proven resilient due to strong economies, high student demand and limited supply, Zumper said. For example, Syracuse, New York, which is home to at least 11 colleges, universities and technical schools, continues to have the highest annual rent growth rate in the country at 31.6%.
