Rental Prices Continue To Soar In Most U.S. Cities

While recent data shows that the housing market is making a gradual recovery, booming rental prices are stealing the spotlight.

Rents are up 5.4 percent from a year ago across the country, according to the latest data from Trulia, a residential real estate website. Of the 25 largest rental markets, Las Vegas was the only area to not see an increase year-over-year.

Buying a home is now cheaper than renting one in most U.S. cities. But as lenders tighten their borrowing requirements, it's tough for many wannabe homebuyers to get a mortgage.

The uptick in demand for rental homes is making rental prices skyrocket.

Here are the top 10 places where rents are soaring:

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• 10. Warren-Troy-Farmington Hills, Michigan

  Year-over-year change in rental prices: 10.7 percent

• 9. Denver, Colorado

  Year-over-year change in rental prices: 10.9 percent

• 8. Middlesex County, Massachusetts

  Year-over-year change in rental prices: 11 percent

• 7. Oakland, California

  Year-over-year change in rental prices: 11.2 percent

• 6. Raleigh, North Carolina

  Year-over-year change in rental prices: 11.4 percent

• 5. Colorado Springs, Colorado

  Year-over-year change in rental prices: 13.7 percent

• 4. Columbus, Ohio

  Year-over-year change in rental prices: 14.1 percent

• 3. San Francisco, California

  Year-over-year change in rental prices: 14.7 percent

• 2. Edison-New Brunswick, New Jersey

  Year-over-year change in rental prices: 14.8 percent

• 1. Fort Worth, Texas

  Year-over-year change in rental prices: 15.5 percent

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Comments

[Siebenstein]

06:18 AM on 07/15/2012

Proof that people will never work together for the greater good; they need pressure =laws.

Most are just incapable of humane behavior.

[juan354]

09:23 PM on 07/13/2012

I still say NYC has the highest rental cost. The rent you pay is way over $2,000 a moth for approximate 600sq Ft

[Sral Rolyat]

05:11 AM on 07/14/2012

That is not what the article is talking about.

[Ainsi sera groigne qui]

09:27 PM on 07/08/2012

In most markets rent prices tend to run in cycles and or are affected by various factors including supply and demand.

Rental property areas are considered commercial property, and are taxed and so forth up the who-ha by state and local governments looking for income. Depending upon the market and the landlords' own skills the expense of keeping up a rental property can be substantial.

Keeping that in mind rental property is supposed to be a profit making enterprise. For much of past decade as easy credit allowed many to purchase homes rents decreased or were stagnat. Now that's all over and obtaining a mortgage has become difficult to impossible for many, demand for what rental housing there is is going up. Remember as well for many markets because demand for private homes including co-ops and condos was so great (fueled by the mortgage boom) building of rental housing lagged. So now in many areas there just isn't enough rental housing to suit demand.

Urban areas are in some ways victims of the very song they sang. New York City,and many others have spent millions to remake themselves as safe,clean "decent" places to live/work and reverse decades of white flight. Well now they have suceeded. Urban areas such as Washington, DC and NYC are seeing a huge growth in upper middle and above populations. This in turn fuels demand for all sorts of goods and services including rents.

[tempgirl007]

09:00 PM on 07/06/2012

just greed. I have had a major long term tenant because I always keep my rent a little lower than the local averages, in the beginning i was greedy but tenants never lasted past a few years and sometimes they paid and sometimes they didn't pay, it was a pain, so I changed and now I've had excellent tenants who can afford to always pay and pay on time. and they've been there for years. I discovered it was easier to manage my financials when I knew the rent would be paid on time. when it's too high, there's no guarantee they'll be able to pay.

[Kelleyreporter]

04:58 PM on 07/06/2012

High rent is just another example of greed. Landlords who own housing rentals almost always have more money than they need. However they like sticking it to people who banks won't finance to purchase a home. Renters know they have no option but to pay the high rent these landlords are asking. So now besides the people who were thrown out into the streets after greedy banks foreclosed on them, there is a new population of people who are being thrown out on the streets by greedy landlords. Every human being deserves to have an affordable roof over their head. Rents will need to be regulated at some point if this trend continues for another year or so. High Rent and High Mortgages creates a vicious financial crisis that continues to destroy the American dream and families who deserve the security of their own home. Don't forget that animals and children also get hurt when they have nowhere to go. Where is the compassion? Greed turns my stomach.

[AlsoSarah]

05:26 PM on 07/06/2012

F&F

[talkofliberty]

05:45 PM on 07/06/2012

You turn my stomach. You blame the land owners for the problem. How about the fact that property taxes are rising? Buy a home and rent it if you think that it is so simple.

[Kelleyreporter]

10:31 PM on 07/06/2012

Actually I am part of the 90 percent that is not a land owner. Hooray for "Occupy Wallstreet." The cost of property taxes wouldn't require a landlord to ask between $400 to $500 more a month for rent. That is an elitist's viewpoint and just an excuse for being greedy. I bet you are a Republican. Most people that buy up property are doing it for investment purposes.That is to make lots of money and that's greed. Why would I need to buy a home and rent it? I have what I need. A simple life not filled with greed but with giving to people who don't have much.

[DIgnified]

02:48 AM on 07/07/2012

Oh no, taxes. Not taxes. Oh what shall we do? Taxes! No person ever had to pay taxes before. Lets feel bad for them.

[missed opportunity]

04:57 PM on 07/06/2012

I rent in Toronto. Really expensive, but a great downtown!

[VileOverlord]

04:52 PM on 07/06/2012

We will be moving to none of these places so we are satisfied.

[roseau]

04:29 PM on 07/06/2012

Overpriced units to purchase are overbuilt. Decent rental property, particularly in locations near jobs and transit, are scarce. This is what happens when the genius of the market is left to make all of the decisions about what kinds of housing units will be built. Housing is a resource that we are stuck with for 10-100 or more years. When bad decisions are made, private entities i.e. dumb developers walk away/go bankrupt and then municipalities are stuck with the consequences. When housing prices go up, wages need to go up, putting pressure on small businesses. It forces average families to spend a disproportionate amount on housing costs, reducing the amount they have to spend on other things and therefore the amount of money circulating in the retail economy. It forces lower income families to be swamped and live precariously.

[electricsoul]

04:23 PM on 07/06/2012

Interesting how most ignorant people associate lower income with rif raff. Sings - I see your true colors shining through.....

[1 PCT]

08:09 PM on 07/08/2012

because most rif raff are low income, unmotivated deadbeats.

[Jetsfanindenver]

04:23 PM on 07/06/2012

Rents are really soaring in Denver. Last weekend went with a friend who was apartment hunting and could not believe what he was getting for in his budget range. Back in 2009 when i stopped renting his budget would have got him a great 2 bedroom place in a great neighborhood. Now a semi-decent 1 bedroom is a real bargain at that price.

[electricsoul]

04:21 PM on 07/06/2012

The rent is San Fracisco has been soaring for a long while This is not news.

[imusintheevening]

04:20 PM on 07/06/2012

This is a great leading economic indicator.

[mrm3]

04:08 PM on 07/06/2012

I'm glad that rents are 'soaring' in Oakland. It's because young people are taking back the city and making it vibrant again.

Another one is Des Moines, Iowa. We pay darn near Chicago prices here

[pjohns]

04:03 PM on 07/06/2012

People are going to find an acre or more, buy it, and wait out the insanity. Or so I'd like to think. One more thing we need to save money for..............

[J Smith 01]

04:21 PM on 07/06/2012

The cost of the land is part of the insanity too.

[pjohns]

04:40 PM on 07/06/2012

.............I know. But, as an investment, if one can afford it with escalating prices, and friends who are electricians, and plumbers, and dry-wallers, and carpenters and whoever else it takes to build shelter, it might be an option. Or is that insane thinking, too? Sometimes I wonder about my own ideas.............

[spytheweb]

04:01 PM on 07/06/2012

I received a renewal notice on my apartment in Las Vegas ad the rent will stay the same, i'am happy.

I have been here 15 years and my rent has gone up $140.00. My gas bill was $19.95 and power this month was $69.00 with the A/C running about 24 hours a day, it been around 100 for the past 2 weeks. Today right now it's 97 going to 106.

I could move but why? Plenty of people like jumping from one apartment to another, which i think is crazy. Buying a house i don't trust the banks. You don't have to miss a payment for the bank to foreclose on you. You can't expect any help from the government if the banks do mess with you. They are all in on it together. No bankers are going to jail for anything they do.