Rents Plunge in the Most Expensive US Cities

But many mid-tier markets are red-hot. In San Francisco, the most expensive major rental market in the US, the median asking rent in November for one-bedroom apartments, at $3,390, is up 1.8% year-over-year, but is down 7.6% from the peak in October 2015. The median asking rent for two-bedroom apartments, at $4,380, rose 2.7% year-over-year, but is down 12.4% from the peak in October 2015.
In New York City, the median asking rent for one-bedroom apartments dropped 3.3% year-over-year to $2,900. For two-bedrooms, it dropped 1.2% to $3,360. Since the peak in March 2016, asking rents have dropped respectively 13.9% and 15.6%.
Oakland used to be red-hot as it attracted San Francisco’s housing refugees. But in November, one-bedroom and two-bedroom rents have dropped respectively 6.4% to $2,060 and 7.1% to $2,500. Both are down 15% from their peaks in April 2016.

This post was published at Wolf Street on Dec 1, 2017.