DENVER (KDVR) — If the national rent surge continues to slow, it will cement Denver’s position at the top of the nation’s expensive rental markets.
The median rent in the U.S. has set a new record high for each of the last 16 unbroken months, according to recent data.
Realtor.com’s June rental report says the yearlong spike in rent may be slowing. Since November 2020, the year-over-year increase kept going up. In January 2022, rent was 17.3% more than the previous January. In June, it was 14.1%.
Denver, once a relatively affordable rental market, has become one of the most expensive in the process.
Of the 50 largest metro areas, Denver-Lakewood-Aurora has the 14th highest median rent at $2,032 per month. A studio apartment costs $1,666, a one-bedroom $1,900 and a two-bedroom $2,394.
Nationally, the median rent among the largest metros was $1,876. Rental markets are cheapest in the South and Midwest and most expensive in California and in the East Coast cities from Boston to Washington, D.C.
The San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro area is the nation’s highest rent at $3,324. Oklahoma City has the cheapest at $1,033.
The Denver area’s expense is on a level with only the most expensive coastal cities.
Slightly less expensive than Sacramento and more expensive than Chicago, it is the only landlocked metro with a median rent of more than $2,000 a month. As rent increases slow, rental rates are more likely to keep it as an abnormally expensive inland city.