Rising rents

Newsweek  -   After two years of declining or flat rates, rent is back on the rise across the U.S. as a shrinking supply might be enabling landlords to increase prices, according to a new report by Redfin.

The median asking rent climbed 1.7 percent—the equivalent of $30—in July compared to a year earlier, reaching $1,790. It was the largest increase since January 2023 and the second consecutive year-over-year increase of 2025 after the one reported in June, when rent rose 0.4 percent.

The U.S. is going through a once-in-a-generation housing affordability crisis that has pushed homeownership out of reach for millions of Americans. As a result, the renting population has grown across the country, especially in suburban areas, as renting remains more affordable than buying almost everywhere in the nation.

But rental costs also surged during the pandemic, as low supply met surging demand. Even as they have been stabilizing and even falling since reaching their peak in mid-2022, rent prices remain much higher than they were before the COVID-19 health emergency.

American tenants are stuck between a rock and a hard place: nearly half of over 21 million renter households in the country have been cost-burdened, meaning they spent more than 30 percent of their income on housing costs in 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. But buying a home is not an option, as prices remain sky-high, mortgage rates are still hovering between 6 percent and 7 percent, and other costs—including home insurance premiums and property taxes—are on the rise...

The biggest year-over-year increase in the nation was reported in San Jose, California, where the median asking rent jumped by 8.8 percent in July. Chicago, Illinois, followed with an 8.6 percent increase. It was trailed by Washington, D.C. (8.5 percent), Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (7.7 percent) and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (7.5 percent).