www.newsweek.com/apartment-rent-…me-1607257
The average monthly price of U.S. apartment rentals has soared back above pre-pandemic levels and nationwide rent costs have now surpassed $1,200 for the first time.
The soaring post-COVID cost of rent rose nearly 10 percent in the first half of 2021 as the country continues pulling out of the pandemic that has gripped the country—and stagnated housing costs—since the spring of 2020.
Real estate experts and research analysts at Apartment List said summer lease renewals this year will lock millions of already-struggling Americans into even higher monthly rent bills. The Apartment List national rent report for the first half of 2021 showed much of the rent increase reflects bounce-back pricing, but the cost of rent has skyrocketed so quickly that the national average is now higher than it was before the pandemic.
The current median cost of renting is actually higher than the $1,192.08 estimate that real estate experts had predicted for this time period before the pandemic. As of June 1, the average actual rent price across the U.S. hit a record $1,219.00. Experts cautioned that higher rents are a price increase that very rarely come back down.