While mortgage rates nationwide climb to 20-year highs, Atlanta’s rental scene appears to see consistent (and in some cases, decreasing) prices, seeing little change over the past year.
According to a recent national report from Zumper, the city ranks 24th out of the 100 most expensive rental markets in the country when examining median cost, one of roughly 30 cities to keep the same ranking on Zumper’s list since the company’s July analysis.
The study attributes the cooling rental market to continued recovery from the pandemic, an event that led to rental prices reaching unprecedented heights from coast to coast. As residents scrambled to find cheaper housing in smaller markets in 2020, prices increased to compensate for the rise in renter demand. Now that migration patterns are leveling out and contractors have more opportunities to build multifamily housing, landlords in general are less inclined to impose substantial price hikes on tenants.
According to the report, the median price for a one-bedroom rental in Atlanta measured $1,710, decreasing 2.3% from the month before and 3.4% since 12 months ago. The median rental payment for a two-bedroom unit measured $2,290 and saw slight increases both month-over-month and year-over-year, rising by 0.4% and 3.2%, respectively.
While the median prices for both one- and two-bedroom units exceed the corresponding national median rents, Atlanta’s prices remain affordable when compared to rental markets similar in size. The 16 highest-ranking cities on Zumper’s list all feature one- and two-bedroom median rental prices reaching or exceeding $2,000 a month.
Atlanta is home to the sixth most expensive rental market in the Southeast, falling behind Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Arlington, Virginia, Charleston, South Carolina and Nashville, Tennessee.