2013 Renting Trends: Mid-Year Update

Read about what’s going on in apartment renting right now.

At Apartment Guide, we want to help movers stay informed about the state of renting in this country.

Find your perfect apartment now!

Take a quick look at a gathering of recent trends and reporting about what you might expect to find when renting an apartment right now.

Rent or buy?
A common question which people looking for a new place to live ask is whether to rent or buy. Though many factors play into that decision, consider that cities where the break-even point occurs more quickly for renting versus buying a home are generally considered attractive cities for renters. The latest findings reported on Bloomberg.com list twelve cities where that point ranges from about 2.5 to 5 years.

High-tech, high rent
Multifamily Executive shares a report indicating that high-tech cities will experience the highest rent growth in 2013. West Coast technology centers like Seattle, San Jose and San Francisco will likely see greater than five percent rent hikes this year. Hopefully, strong employment rates will assist renters in keeping up with the rising rent trend in these highly-desired cities.

Capitol savings
Though rental occupancy is typically high in cities across the country, there are places where lower occupancy means an opportunity to pay lower rent. According to GlobeSt.com, Washington, D.C., is the primary hotspot where there are plenty of apartment units for renters to choose from, at perhaps a 2% average savings over last year. Other cities may see changes like these in the near future, as building resumes.

Renting is the trend
While it is important to take big-city trends into account, the U.S. Census Bureau shared some nationwide findings in April which necessitate a look back at the big picture. In cities around the country from approximately 2009 to 2011, the overall living statistic of note was an average move away from home ownership to renting. The report says that “more renters are spending a high percentage of their household income on rent,” perhaps because the decrease in available apartments means that rents went up to balance the change. For renters who spend about 35 percent of income on rent and utilities, that level is considered high.

Renters in Richmond, VA, and Buffalo, NY, scored a win, however, as the only markets among the 50 most-populated urban areas where the actual cost to rent decreased. Also of note is the finding that, in the cities of Los Angeles and New York, about half of households were rented.

Though individual statistics may not be of much practical use, taken together, they indicate the trends to pay attention to. Trends in home living are important to help make decisions about relocation, for instance. The overall cost of living in a place — which includes how much it costs to establish a home — is critical knowledge for movers to consider.

Photo credit: Shutterstock / John Henkel