Renters seeing steep price increases

After several months of declining rent costs during the early phase of the pandemic, renters in the U.S. are now seeing a surge in their monthly rent at renewal time. Because of high demand for rental units, landlords are raising lease prices even higher than the pre-pandemic era.

Only a handful of states in the U.S. have rent control laws that limit how much landlords can increase costs in a single year. Realtor.com’s monthly rental report for September shows rent in the largest tech cities in the U.S. saw an average increase of 6.3 percent.

In 2019, California enacted laws that limit rent hikes. At the time of the legislations passing, California Governor Gavin Newsom said that the state would now have the “nation’s strongest statewide renter protections.” The law permits rent increases up to five percent annually plus local inflation. While this is a limitation, inflation in some parts of Southern California is near seven percent alone.

Meanw, conforming no-point 30-year fixed mortgage rates are averaging 2.875 percent and 15-year rates are near 2.25 percent.

Do you have a question for Real Estate & Mortgage Analyst Mehran Aram? Submit your queries about a home purchase, refinance, or reverse mortgage via Aramco.biz, social media (#AramcoReport), or over the phone at (877) 700-0942 and your questions may be featured in an upcoming article.