Rent prices are increasing both nationwide and in Arizona. | Canva, edited in Canva
Rent prices are increasing both nationwide and in Arizona. | Canva, edited in Canva
Inflation has risen to 40-year record levels in recent months, and one of the most concerning areas of cost hikes has been the cost of rent, both nationwide and in Arizona.
The national average cost for a one-bedroom rental has risen nearly 25%, while two-bedroom rentals have increased 21.8% nationwide since early 2021 when President Joe Biden took office, according to Rent.com. The national average cost of a 1-bedroom apartment is $1,684, and the average two-bedroom is $1,997, continuing a long trend of increases.
"Single-family rent growth extended its record-breaking price growth streak to 10 consecutive months in January," Molly Boesel, principal economist at CoreLogic, said on the company's website. "Rents increased across the country, and the gains were highest in the Sun Belt, which also had strong population growth last year."
CoreLogic is a leading global property information, analytics, and data-enabled solutions provider. It said that single-family rent prices increased 12.6% year-over-year by January of this year, compared to a 3.9% increase in January 2021.
The Arizona market has been hit by an even bigger increase in prices in the past year. Rent.com reported an estimated 49.35% price hike statewide, with Chandler listed as number two on the site’s list of cities with the highest increase in rent for a one-bedroom unit (50.8%) over last year.
Rent prices are climbing and this is not expected to end this year, according to a Fox Business report.
"In a lot of places, it costs more money even to rent than it is to own a mortgage," Zillow economist Nicole Bachaud said.
The rising cost of living has forced some Americans to move because they cannot afford the high rent.
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that lawmakers in cities across the country are looking into rent-control legislation, which would forbid landlords from increasing rent by more than 2% to 10%.
"Rents are exploding at a pace far faster than income,” Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh, an economist and professor at Columbia Business School, told the WSJ.
Biden said he planned to issue Section 8 vouchers to anyone who spends more than 30% of their income on rent, with the goal of freeing up money for later use as a down payment on a home.
Fee Stories writer and businessman Daniel Kowalski said that "one likely unintended result of this policy is that landlords will raise rents without the renter feeling the pain of the increase because the faceless taxpayer will pick up the difference."
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