As rent hikes continue to hit local communities, Delaware finds itself among the top states with the most significant yearly increases for apartments.
Delaware is the state with the fifth highest year-over-year rent increase, coming in with a 14.5 percent increase, according to a report from Rent.
Trailing below Delaware are Tennessee (14.2 percent increase), Mississippi (13.2 percent increase), Nebraska (12.6 percent increase), North Carolina (12.2 percent increase) and Utah (12.1 percent increase).
The state with the highest year-over-year increase is Florida, with a 23.9 percent increase, followed by New York at 20.1 percent, South Dakota at 17.9 percent and Arkansas at 17.5 percent.
Rent prices decreased nationwide between November and December by 1.41 percent, pushing the median price below $2,000 for an apartment, according to the report. Prices first surpassed this figure in May of 2022 and have remained there since, with October being the only exception at $1982, the lowest median price since April 2022, the study found.
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In December, year-over-year growth continued to slow, resulting in the first in 17 months where the yearly growth rate was below 5 percent, according to Rent. This was the fourth consecutive month for single digit increases. Previously, double digit increases were experienced from October 2021 to September 2022, the report indicates.
The declines in monthly and yearly growth rates stem from rental industry trends like increased vacancy rates, a cooling housing market, seasonal demand below normal levels and new inventory.
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Renters also are prioritizing locations that are protected from extreme weather and considering the cost of rental application fees when searching for new apartments, straying away from those with higher prices, the report found.
To compile the report, researchers analyzed December rental prices from Rent.’s available inventory to identify median rent prices at the national, state and metro levels.
The report can be found in full here: rent.com/research/average-rent-price-report/
