Rental rates are still climbing – but a bit more slowly than in previous months.

Nationwide, the cost of renting a single-family home grew by 2.9 percent, to an average of $1,455, in November, according to the latest data from CoreLogic released Tuesday. By contrast, rent prices had grown by 3 percent the previous month, 3.2 percent in September, and 2.8 percent in November 2017.

A lack of affordable housing is partially responsible for the spike, according to the CoreLogic data. Rent for homes priced at less than 75 percent of the median in each city has grown by 3.8 percent since November 2017, forcing many would-be first-time buyers to continue renting longer than expected.

“Long-term rent increases have been lower than long-term home price increases,” said Molly Boesel, principal economist at CoreLogic, in a prepared statement. “For example, rent prices increased 17 percent over the past five years, compared with a 32 percent increase in home prices over the same period.”

Courtesy of CoreLogic

Single-family rent prices grew even faster in some pockets of the country. Las Vegas, Phoenix and Orlando shouldered increases of 6.7 percent, 6.1 percent and 5.3 percent, respectively. The only major city that saw its rent prices drop in November was Seattle, indicating that price hikes in the area may be coming to an end.

Meanwhile, multifamily rental rates grew 3.2 percent year-over-year to an average of $1,419 in December.

Courtesy of CoreLogic

Despite the small drop in growth over the past two months, prices nationwide are projected to continue rising far into 2019 given low inventory and high demand.

“Additionally, lower-priced rentals and homes increase 1 ½ to 2 times faster than higher-priced rentals and homes,” Boesel said. “These lopsided gains between price tiers are common.”

Email Veronika Bondarenko

Show Comments Hide Comments
Sign up for Inman’s Morning Headlines
What you need to know to start your day with all the latest industry developments
By submitting your email address, you agree to receive marketing emails from Inman.
Success!
Thank you for subscribing to Morning Headlines.
Back to top
×
Log in
If you created your account with Google or Facebook
Don't have an account?
Forgot your password?
No Problem

Simply enter the email address you used to create your account and click "Reset Password". You will receive additional instructions via email.

Forgot your username? If so please contact customer support at (510) 658-9252

Password Reset Confirmation

Password Reset Instructions have been sent to

Subscribe to The Weekender
Get the week's leading headlines delivered straight to your inbox.
Top headlines from around the real estate industry. Breaking news as it happens.
15 stories covering tech, special reports, video and opinion.
Unique features from hacker profiles to portal watch and video interviews.
Unique features from hacker profiles to portal watch and video interviews.
It looks like you’re already a Select Member!
To subscribe to exclusive newsletters, visit your email preferences in the account settings.
Up-to-the-minute news and interviews in your inbox, ticket discounts for Inman events and more
1-Step CheckoutPay with a credit card
By continuing, you agree to Inman’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

You will be charged . Your subscription will automatically renew for on . For more details on our payment terms and how to cancel, click here.

Interested in a group subscription?
Finish setting up your subscription
×