Average rents hit all-time high — even in small towns

Is renting still an option?

Home prices might be up, but rents aren’t any better. In fact, according to new data, average rents clocked in at $1,405 last month—the country’s highest rents of all time.

Rents reach peak point

According to RENTCafe, rents rose 0.9 percent from May to June and were up nearly 3 percent over the year. That equates to about $40 more dollars per month, on average.

Rents also increased in 88 percent of America’s largest metros. Only 10 percent of cities saw rents hold steady, while just 2 percent saw a slight decline.

It appears size doesn’t matter, either. Rents rose 2.8 percent or more on studio apartments, one-bedrooms, two-bedrooms and three-bedrooms over the year, and about 1 percent since May.

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Where rents are rising most

Rents in Orlando have jumped 8.4 percent over the year, with residents now paying an average of $107 more per month. Tampa, Phoenix and Las Vegas all saw rents rise 6 percent or more in the same period.

But it’s not just big metros feeling the burn.

“The top 20 fastest increases in the country were registered in small cities, where population migration and the strengthening economy are accelerating rent growth,” wrote RENTCafe’s Balazs Szekely.

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Smaller cities to see big jumps in rents were Midland, Texas (38.8 percent increase over the year); Odessa, Texas (36.6 percent); Lancaster, California (10.2 percent); Reno, Nevada (9.9 percent); and Peoria, Arizona (9.6 percent).

The highest dollar-value rents for June were seen in Manhattan ($4,116); San Francisco ($3,561); Boston ($3,374); San Mateo, California ($3,269); and Cambridge, Massachusetts ($3,111).

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