American renters may soon be able to breathe a sigh of relief. Housing costs have begun to drop for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic, according to The Washington Post.
In May 2023, rent prices saw a 0.5 percent decrease for the first time since 2020. During the COVID-19 peak, many people made plans to change their living arrangements, resulting in a huge demand for rental properties and a spike in prices. For landlords, it was an opportunity to cash in on the needs of the American people, but for renters it was the first real sign of how much inflation would affect their daily lives for the foreseeable future.
In July 2022, the median asking rent for 0-2 bedroom units was well over $1,800, which has decreased by $38 over the last 11 months, according to Realtor.com.
Still, that number is over $300 more than the highest asking price one year before the pandemic began and there is no clear path to determining if numbers will continue to decline throughout the summer.
“It has been a long time coming,” said Danielle Hale, chief economist at Realtor.com. “But it does beg the question of how far will rents dip?” Though the answer to how much and for how long rent prices will decrease remains a mystery, experts predict that renters have seen the last of astronomical increases.
“The image I have in my head is like a balloon that floats quickly to the ceiling, and then it’s on the ceiling sort of bouncing around,” said Igor Popov, chief economist at Apartment List. “Rents are kind of sitting on the ceiling like a balloon that just floated up.”
The summer months can usually be a time when rent increases; however, the flattening of rates seems to point to an easier road ahead for those looking to take on new leases.