Home > Blogs > Dave Poletti > Dave Poletti's (davepoletti) Blog

Seattle Property Management: Top 10 Cities Where Rents are on the Rise

By Dave Poletti

Services for Real Estate Pros with Dave Poletti & Associates

December 19, 2012 02:07 AM

Projections for Which 10 City’s Rents will Rise the most and what is driving this-

During the recession, we found many tenants buckling down and cutting costs wherever possible. For some this meant moving in with parents, or possibly moving in with 1, or 2 or 3 roommates and sharing the costs of rent and utilities.

We started to see trends in 2011 for rents starting to increase which is indicative of a stronger overall economy. Many tenants can now afford to pay higher rents in certain areas of the country.

We will take a look at 10 Cities in the U.S. and what is the driving force in each individual market for higher rents.

1.) San Jose, CA:

Driving Forces: Close in to Silicon Valley and a tight supply of Real Estate. Google and Facebook are creating many jobs and the high cost of housing is forcing many younger or lower income workers to rent rather than buy. There is a low supply of houses and high demand, driving prices up.

2.) New York, NY

Driving Forces: New York has about 2/3 of its residents as renters simply due to the high cost of owning a residence in New York. With the financial industry recovering, and a fairly strong economy (low unemployment), many are willing and able to pay a premium still to rent a property.

3.) District of Columbia

Driving Forces: The Nation’s Capital and Federal Government is a huge industry of its own. There are many jobs that are created from contractors to lobbyists, etc. that feed off the government. This has kept demand high for all housing in this area.

4.) Greenville, S.C.

Driving Forces: Many large companies such as: BMW, Michelin, IBM and Bank of America have kept this economy strong. The cost of living is also fairly low here. Rents are still fairly low, but on the rise.

5.) Portland, OR

Driving Forces: Officials have done much work to clean up the Willamette River and other parts of the City. It has become extremely attractive to young professionals to live here and many are opting to rent. Companies such as Nike have been on the mend, and there are many other technology, service companies and big employers in the City.

6.) Chattanooga, TN

Driving Forces: In 2009, Volkswagen moved its sole American factory here. This, along with other companies has helped to keep unemployment low. Cost of living is also fairly low here.

7.) Orange County, CA

Driving Forces: This area was hit fairly hard by the real estate bust, but trends may be showing that it is on the rebound. Going back to supply and demand- housing prices have remained fairly high, so for many young people, renting is the only option. Couple this with the geographic location of this county (bordering the Pacific Ocean) and housing is limited. With the demand of rentals, and limited supply, prices are on the rise.

8.) Houston, TX

Driving Forces: The economy here is strong based on the Energy Industry and oil prices here and overseas. This City is growing and attracting many new residents. While there is space to build, the number of built new rental units have not caught up with the demand, which is pushing rents higher.

9.) Seattle, WA

Driving Forces: Technology and industrial companies have prompted a local recovery for Seattle. Microsoft has been one of the main companies. There is a limited supply of properties, which has continued to push rents up. With the Demand higher due to an increase in jobs, and supply lower due to limited number of rentals, we have seen rents on the rise.

10.) Hartford, CT

Driving Forces: With the insurance companies that drive Hartford’s economy recovering (due to the stock market and financial industry), the rental market is seeing rising rents for Connecticut’s largest city.