Rental Rate Increase 2015The first quarter of 2015 reveals a continuing trend in rising rent rates across the country.

In a report released last week from RentRange and Real Property Management, rental rates for three-bedroom single-family homes were analyze to reveal changes in rent prices across the U.S. in 2015.

The “Rental Housing Statistics” report mirrors recent trends that rent rates are continuing to grow, and quarter 1 shows a that rent has increased 5.4% year-over-year for three-bedroom single family homes.

Rental rates from the top 10 U.S. regions were examined, reveal a national median rate of $1,286, and a national growth ranging between 1-13%, respectively.  The Pacific Northwest region experienced the largest increase at 13.0%, followed by the Northeast at 10.9% growth in rent rates year-over-year.  Lower numbers were found in the Mid-Atlantic with only 1.6% rent rate increase and the South-Atlantic with a 2.6% increase.

According to this report, California is the most expensive region with a median rental rate at $1,907 but this area has only seen a 6.4% increase year-over-year.  The area with the least expensive rent in this report is the Southeast at $957 for a three-bedroom but has seen a 8.3% increase in rent rates year-over-year.

10 U.S. Regions with Rental Rate Growth and Year-over-Year Increases through the First Quarter 2015

 

Rent Rates in 2015

 

 

The “Rental Housing Statistics” report also examined vacancy rates through March 2015 to find the average percent of unoccupied homes per region. The national rate rose slightly to 5.7 percent, increasing by .09 percent year-over-year.

While this data reveals only median rent prices for 3-bedroom, single family homes it follows a national pattern of growing rent prices for most markets across the country.  The trend is expected to continue into the future as renting remain a popular housing option for the millennial and renting to baby boomers generations.