Miami Rents Rise To Nation’s Third Most Expensive

As U.S. rents hit another new high in April, Miami edged out Boston as the third-most-expensive city to lease an apartment.

Nationally, the median rent for a one-bedroom hit $1,410, the thirteenth all-time high in the past 14 months, according to apartment listing site Zumper’s monthly ranking.

In Miami, rental prices have been rising at a fierce clip. Only in March, the city jumped San Jose to take fourth place among the priciest rental cities.

Then rents surged 5.2 percent month-over-month to hit $2,630 in April. That pop comes just two months after RealtyHop dubbed the city the most expensive housing market in the country.

When housing prices rise, rents follow suit as prospective buyers are forced to remain renters, driving heightened demand that pressures apartment supply.

In March, Realtor.com named the Miami metro area the most rent-burdened in the country as tenants on average spent nearly 60 percent of their monthly income on housing. The federal government considers any tenant forking over more than 30 percent of earnings to be rent burdened.

In line with that report, Zumper found the Miami suburbs saw rents rise at nearly the same clip as the city proper, which posted a 38.4 percent jump compared to April 2021.

In Tampa and Orlando, median rents are up about 37 percent year-over-year. Jacksonville saw prices rise nearly 35 percent in the same period. Fort Lauderdale rents are 23 percent higher than this time last year.

For the tenants hoping that something’s got to give with the rental market, report author Jeff Andrew’s advice is don’t hold your breath.

Zumper data showed the speed of rent growth in 2022 so far has trounced the pace of rises during the same period in 2021. The national median rent for a one-bedroom has risen 3.2 percent so far in 2022, nearly twice the 1.7 percent increase seen over the same period last year.

Andrews said the “market correction” theory that rents would eventually catch up to rising home prices and normalize “doesn’t appear to hold water anymore.”

But he did see potential for a pressure valve opening in the coming months.

As more leases expire this summer, Andrews said “all-time low” vacancy rates could tick up, giving renters more options in a hot market.

“Whether that actually results in rent growth slowing down remains to be seen,” Andrews said.

Contact Suzannah Cavanaugh