In November, the rental prices for a one-bedroom and two-bedroom unit decreased by 0.3%, according to Zumper’s National Rent Report.
It now costs the average renter a median of $1,237 and $1,480 to rent the average one- and two-bedroom units, equating to an annual increase of 2.5% and 2.6%, respectively.
Zumper notes the nation’s top 10 rental markets saw a relatively flat November, experiencing essentially no changes in rankings.
However, on a year over year basis, San Francisco, which came in as the nation’s priciest rental market, experienced a price decline for both one and two-bedroom units. In the Bay Area city, one-bedroom rent decreased by 0.6% to $3,530, while two-bedroom units dropped by 1.7% to $4,670.
In New York, which came as the second most expensive rental market, one-bedroom rent increased by 0.6% to $3,000, while two bedrooms grew by 3.9% to $3,500.
In other pricey markets including, Boston; Oakland, California; and San Jose, California, rents behaved more sluggish, rising slightly in the majority of the top five.
In Boston, one-bedroom rent increased by 0.8% to $2,530, while two bedrooms climbed 1% to $2,930. Oakland followed closely behind as the 4th priciest rental market, with one-bedroom rent growing by 0.8% to $2,500, while two bedrooms stayed flat at $3,000.
Lastly, San Jose rounded off the top 5 with one-bedroom rent falling by 0.4% to $2,450 and two bedrooms increasing by 0.3% to $2,950, according to the report.
On the other end of the spectrum, Zumper indicates that mid to low tiered cities saw more volatile changes in rental prices.
Among these cites, Bakersfield, California had the largest monthly growth rate, while Laredo, Texas saw the biggest rent dip. According to Zumper, one-bedroom rent in Bakersfield rose by 5.5% to $770, whereas one-bedroom rent in Laredo declined by 4.8% to $790.
The chart below displays the top 5 most expensive rental markets and how they moved in November, according to Zumper.
NOTE: The Zumper National Rent Report analyzes rental data from over 1 million active listings across the country. Data is aggregated on a monthly basis to calculate median asking rents for the top 100 metro areas by population, according to Zumper.
