Looking for a new place to rent? Good luck!
Rentals throughout the country they are shooting. According to Rent.com, they are up 86% since last year in Redmond, Wash., where the average monthly rent is now $4,222. The median rent in Glendale, California is $4,472, up 36% from last year. In Pflugerville, Texas, a town near Austin, rent prices are up 126% year-over-year to $2,769 a month.
It’s leading to rent battles.
Michael Citrin, a federal public defender, has been looking for a place to rent in Los Angeles.
“I can’t even tell you how many places I’ve applied and been rejected from,” Citrin said. “And I’m also looking with two other professionals.”
They tried to rent a three-bedroom bungalow in South Los Angeles for $4,100 a month, but someone outbid them by 10%.
“I never would have expected there to be a bidding war for a 12-month lease,” Citrin said. “There’s a chance I won’t find anything in the next two weeks, and then I put my stuff in storage and stay on a friend’s couch.”
Realtor Blake Stargel listed a three-bedroom in Los Angeles for $4,700 a month. He said he received 50 inquiries in the first 24 hours.
“We had offers as high as $5,500 on this property,” he said.
Stargel said people are bidding high on the asking price because of the competition.
“Post-COVID, people who work remotely are now coming back,” he said.
Rising mortgage rates are partly to blame, blocking potential home buyers. The average interest rate on a 30-year home mortgage is 5.6%, according to Bankrate.
“All of these things will put upward pressure on rents,” said Jon Leckie, a data reporter at Rent.com.
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- the angels
- Mortgage rates
- rentals
- sale of homes
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