Miami Leads Nation in Rent Hikes

If rising rents were a race, Miami would be crushing the competition.

Miami rents climbed 45.8 percent in May compared to last May, according to a newly released report from Realtor.com. Miami’s annual rent growth was a stand-out; its closest rival was Orlando at 28.4 percent. Nationwide, rents increased an average of 15.5 percent.

The latest data on Miami rents continues the pandemic trend of exponential growth. In March, Miami won the title of most rent-burdened city in America, with renters devoting nearly 60 percent of their income to paying for housing. That month, Miami’s median monthly rent gain led the nation, skyrocketing 58 percent since March 2020 to $2,988, according to a Realtor.com report. A month later, the city butted out Boston for third place as the most expensive city for renters, still behind longtime chart-toppers New York and San Francisco.

In the last year, rents across the country have stampeded upward. May was the 10th consecutive month of double-digit, year-over-year growth, with the median rent in the U.S. now $1,849. The latest data show national rents are 26.6 percent higher than pre-pandemic rates, an increase driven largely by lack of supply, both in the rental and home buying markets.

In New York City, rents jumped 18.6 percent in May, year-over-year; 19.7 percent in Dallas; 17.7 percent in Los Angeles; 15.3 percent in Chicago, and 10 percent in San Francisco, according to the latest report.

Yet, the May data suggests that the rent surge is beginning to lose steam, Danielle Hale, Realtor.com’s chief economist, said in a statement.

Nationwide, annual rent growth peaked in January at 17.3 percent, and has gradually receded in recent months. May’s national annual increase is the lowest seen since September, suggesting that rent hikes may begin to plateau through the summer. One reason Hale cites is that incomes can’t keep up with the historic increases, even in the current strong job market.