Phoenix metro area apartment rents continue to increase
Feb 26, 2017, 12:23 PM | Updated: 6:18 pm
PHOENIX — When it comes to the rising cost of renting an apartment, the Phoenix metro area is no different from the rest of the country.
While the national average has continued a steadily climb over the past three years to around $1,210 per month, both the city of Phoenix and the metro area have seen similar trends, however, rent costs for the metro are still below the national average.
According to rentcafe.com, the average rent for the metro area is $968 while the average rent within the city of Phoenix is $889.
Rentcafe.com also added that the surging population plus a healthy job market have resulted in growing demand for Phoenix apartments which have left prospective renters with little bargaining power.
“In fact, renters in the whole Phoenix Metropolitan Area are victims of that phenomenon right now, as rents hit record levels in 2016,” the website said. “Phoenix itself posted a strong 7.1 percent year-over-year rent increase, which is a lot higher than the four percent national average, but apparently that was only enough for a confident middle-rank on home turf.”
Overall, Surprise saw the biggest uptick in the price for rent with a 12.6 percent increase with an average rent of $1,025. This is credited to the lack of supply of apartments in the city according to the website.
Meanwhile, the priciest city is Scottsdale where renters pay an average of $1,254 but only saw a 1.9 percent growth in 2016. Rentcafe credits this to the limited headroom along with the 1,641 units built in the last year. However, the area is likely to see stable increases for years to come thanks in large part to SkySong, the 42 acre ASU Scottsdale Innovation Center that is expected to create up to 10,000 jobs along with the 8,000 new jobs expected to be created by State Farms’ $700 million Marina Heights Regional headquarters in Tempe.
Overall, according to a report in Forbes, the Phoenix metro area enjoyed being one of the most affordable metro areas in 2015, while New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Miami were among some of the most expensive places to live.
