Multifamily

SANTA CLARA, CALIF. — During the pandemic, moving to the suburbs could save apartment renters more than $600 per month. Today, that difference is only $100. Regardless of location, rents everywhere reached an all-time high in July. Avail, a subsidiary of Realtor.com, recently released its Quarterly Landlord and Renter Survey, which collected and analyzed rental data from about 50 metros and suburbs. The study found that median asking rents in cities were $1,928 per month in July, while suburban rents averaged $1,821. That’s a stark difference from just a few years ago, when lower rents lured many remote workers to the suburbs to save money during the pandemic. A report published by Yield PRO in September 2020 estimated median urban asking rents to be $1,955 per month while suburban apartments were a much better bargain at an average of $1,349. Nationally, asking rents are about 23 percent higher today than they were in July 2020, according to Realtor.com, which also claims the latest across-the-board average of $1,879 is the highest rate in the past 17 months. Rent growth in the double digits is historically significant, but landlords are expected to lay off rent hikes in coming months while tenants grapple with inflation. …