Portland and Austin saw the largest increases, with rents surging more than 30% year over year

(NASDAQ: RDFN) — Average monthly asking rents in the U.S. increased 15.2% year over year to $1,891 in January, according to a new report from Redfin (redfin.com), the technology-powered real estate brokerage. This was the largest annual jump since at least February 2020.

Meanwhile, the national median monthly mortgage payment for homebuyers climbed 25% year over year to $1,595, also the biggest increase in Redfin’s records.

“Moving right now is expensive, whether you’re renting or buying,” said Redfin Chief Economist Daryl Fairweather. “One of the only ways to avoid high housing costs is to move somewhere cheaper, but the list of places that are truly inexpensive is shrinking. Rising mortgage rates are squeezing more Americans out of the for-sale market, which will likely put increasing pressure on rents in the coming months.”

Year over year, rent increases outpaced mortgage-payment increases for new homebuyers in just 13 of the 50 largest U.S. metro areas in January.

Rents Are Up Over 30% In Portland, OR, Austin, TX & New York City

The 10 metro areas with the biggest increases in rent prices—up 30% or more year over year—are primarily located in the Tri-State Area and Florida. Portland, OR and Austin, TX also made the list, leading the way with increases of 39% and 35%, respectively.

Top 10 Metro Areas With Fastest-Rising Rents Year Over Year

1. Portland, OR (+39%)
2. Austin, TX (+35%)
3. Newark, NJ (+33%)
4. Nassau County, NY (+33%)
5. New York, NY (+33%)
6. New Brunswick, NJ (+33%)
7. Tampa, FL (+31%)
8. Fort Lauderdale, FL (+31%)
9. West Palm Beach, FL (+31%)
10. Miami, FL (+31%)

Just two of the top 50 metro areas saw rents fall in January from a year earlier. Rents declined 4% in both Kansas City, MO and Milwaukee.

To read the full report, including charts, additional data and methodology, please visit: https://www.redfin.com/news/redfin-rental-report-january-2022/

About Redfin

Redfin (www.redfin.com) is a technology-powered real estate company. We help people find a place to live with brokerage, instant home-buying (iBuying), rentals, lending, title insurance, and renovations services. We sell homes for more money and charge half the fee. We also run the country's #1 real-estate brokerage site. Our home-buying customers see homes first with on-demand tours, and our lending and title services help them close quickly. Customers selling a home can take an instant cash offer from Redfin or have our renovations crew fix up their home to sell for top dollar. Our rentals business empowers millions nationwide to find apartments and houses for rent. Since launching in 2006, we've saved customers more than $1 billion in commissions. We serve more than 100 markets across the U.S. and Canada and employ over 6,000 people.

For more information or to contact a local Redfin real estate agent, visit www.redfin.com. To learn about housing market trends and download data, visit the Redfin Data Center. To be added to Redfin's press release distribution list, email press@redfin.com. To view Redfin's press center, click here.

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