Welcome to the renters market. New data out from Zumper found that buying a home is now more expensive nationwide than renting as national medians for both one- and two-bedroom homes are down for the second month in a row.
The new national median for a one-bedroom is $1,499, a month-over-month decrease of 0.4 percent. At $1,856, the median for two-bedrooms is down 0.3 percent month-over-month. In fact, more than half of the cities on Zumper’s top 100 list are down year-over-year.
Of the 100 cities on the list, 60 have one-bedroom median rents lower than last month, 11 are flat month-over-month, and 29 are up.
New York still holds the dubious title of having the highest rents, where the average one bedroom goes for $4,300 per month. California hot spots make up much of the top 10 locations with the highest rents, including San Francisco at no. 4, San Jose at no. 6, San Diego at no. 7, and Los Angeles at no. 8. However, all of those aforementioned Golden State cities saw year-over-year declines for the average rate on a one bedroom rental.
“We’re seeing most major markets settle into their new resting heart rates,” said Zumper CEO Anthemos Georgiades. “Miami, for example, is more expensive than pre-pandemic; but it’s no longer seeing steep hikes month after month.”