Rent Increases Slow as New Apartment Buildings Open

New apartment buildings are finally opening, which is helping slow rent appreciation across the U.S. According to the Zillow October Real Estate Market Reports, national rents grew 4.5 percent annually, down from 5.3 percent in September.

Due in part to a lack of inventory, finding an affordable place to rent is a struggle for many residents across the country. Rents are still rising quickly, but thanks to new apartment buildings opening, they are growing at a slower pace, even in some of the hottest rental markets.

The San Francisco metro is the fastest-growing rental market, and while rents are still appreciating quickly, they've seen some slow down over the past year. Rents in San Francisco are up 15.2 percent from last year, but they were growing as fast as 19 percent in June and July.

Even though rental appreciation is slowing, renting is still unaffordable for many residents across the U.S. "It will take a lot more supply, and a lot more renters-turned-homeowners, to fully reverse this trend,"  said Zillow Chief Economist Svenja Gudell.

Here are the U.S. metros with the biggest and smallest median rent change over the past year.

Biggest Year-Over-Year Median Rent Change

• San Francisco – 15.2%
• Portland – 11.2%
• Denver – 11.1%
• San Jose – 11.0%
• Seattle – 7.4%

Smallest Year-Over-Year Median Rent Change

• Cleveland – 0.3%
• Chicago – 1.4%
• Washington, DC – 1.7%
• Indianapolis, Baltimore, and Philadelphia – 2.1%
• Minneapolis-St. Paul – 2.2%

For more information, read the report on Zillow Research.

from Zillow Blog - Real Estate Market Stats, Celebrity Real Estate, and Zillow News http://www.zillow.com/blog/rents-slow-as-new-buildings-open-187034/
via Reveeo