- According to Trulia's report on April rental markets, Miami, San Francisco and New York remain some of the least affordable rental markets in the country.
- Rent declined 1.6 percent nationally in April.
- Chicago and Houston's share of affordable units were relatively high compared to other top metros.
If it pays to be cool, Miami is the James Dean of real estate markets. Living in the exploding city and other popular metros, all of which are home to some of the most advanced condominiums and apartments in the world, comes at a cost.
According to a recent Trulia report on high rental markets in April, Miami, San Francisco and New York remain some of the least affordable rental markets in the country.
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In Miami, for instance, only 6.9 percent of rentals are considered affordable — or a median monthly rent of $1,950.
New York is able to boast a little bit more affordable units (19.6 percent of properties) but the median monthly rent in the Big Apple is $2,354. San Francisco, which has always been hot, boasts a median monthly rent of $3,500, with 22.2 percent of available inventory falling in that price range.
Monthly rent prices have dropped overall across the country, but just slightly. Nationally, rent declined 1.6 percent.
Markets where rent is out of control
New York is broken down by its boroughs, and each one is unique in its rent growth. Manhattan’s one-bedroom apartments remain some of the least affordable. As of April, 89 percent of one-bedroom apartments were renting for over $2,000, 74.6 percent rented above $2,500, 56 percent rented above $3,000 and 20.4 percent rented over $4,000.
In San Francisco, 92.3 percent of one-bedroom apartments rented above $2,000, 83.3 percent rented above $2,500, 61.3 percent went above $3,000 and 19.2 percent rented above $4,000. Compare this to the analysis done for two-bedroom rentals in the Bay Area, and nearly 100 percent of units rented above $2,000 in April, with 65.3 percent renting above $4,000.
The most expensive neighborhood in San Francisco was South Beach, where 89 percent of one-bedroom apartments rented for more than $3,000. Median rent in the area was $3,950.
Century City was Los Angeles’ most expensive neighborhood in April, with median rent for one-bedrooms at $2,775. In all of L.A., 33.2 percent of one-bedrooms rented for more than $2,000.
The George Washington University area of Washington, D.C., had the highest median rent, at $3,037. Almost 80 percent of one-bedroom apartments in that area rented for more than $2,000.
Miami’s market presented some of the most staggering results. Only 9.7 percent of apartment rentals (including studios, one-bedroom and two-bedroom rentals) were considered affordable, meaning only 9.7 percent of rentals were priced at 30 percent of area median monthly household income in April.
More affordable metros
Houston, on the other hand, offered more than half (69.9 percent) of its studio, one and two-bedroom units at affordable prices per the area’s median monthly income in April, up 1.9 percent from April 2015.
Although not considered quite as affordable as Houston, Chicago’s percentage of units priced below 30 percent of the metro’s median gross monthly household income was relatively high, at 50.2 percent. Even more staggering is the area’s 8.4 percent increase in affordable apartments since April 2015 — the third highest in the country.
