New York metro roommate rents fell in 2021 to the lowest they’ve been in six years, as the pandemic hit the city’s rental market.
The average monthly rent in 2021 was $1,189 (compared to $1,290 in 2019, pre-pandemic), down almost 8%. The city hasn’t seen rents this low since 2015, when they were $1,179.
San Francisco and Chicago metro areas were also hit hard, with rents falling to $1,238 and $795 respectively (down from $1,281 and $839). However, most other key metro areas saw their highest average rents in 2021. Apart from Boston, where rents fell slightly between 2019 and 2021, every other major US metro area saw rents increase over the course of the past two years.
The biggest winners were:
| Metro area | Average roommate rent |
% change 2019-21 |
|---|---|---|
| Riverside | $869 | 23.9% |
| Raleigh | $737 | 20.2% |
| Phoenix | $778 | 19.5% |
| Charlotte | $759 | 16.4% |
| Tampa | $789 | 16.2% |
| Detroit | $634 | 15.5% |
| Austin | $815 | 14.6% |
| San Diego | $1,072 | 13.3% |
| Miami | $987 | 12.9% |
| Las Vegas | $722 | 12.5% |
| Houston | $746 | 12.2% |
The main reason for this was a shift in the balance between supply and demand. The following metro areas all saw an increase in demand vs supply over the two year period since covid hit:
| Metro area | % Supply vs demand change 2019-21 |
|---|---|
| Miami | 207.6% |
| San Diego | 146.4% |
| Baltimore | 142.4% |
| Riverside | 127.0% |
| Jacksonville | 115.5% |
| Las Vegas | 113.2% |
| Sacramento | 110.0% |
| San Antonio | 108.3% |
| Austin | 108.2% |
| Virginia Beach | 99.4% |
We knew the pandemic had a dramatic impact on New York, and that other cities benefited as a result, but we were shocked to see just how far rents fell. Rents started climbing again in New York at the end of 2021, following a surge in demand. Will they reach pre-pandemic levels again or has covid redrawn the US rental map for good? Only time will tell.
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Image credit - Toomas Tartes