Raleigh rents increase nearly 6% from last year
RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- If you feel like your rent keeps increasing, it's not just your imagination. According to real estate company Zillow, rents in the Raleigh metro area are 5.7% higher this year compared to a year ago.
"In terms of actually seeing rents work their way back down to a lower level, I just don't see much cause for hope on that front unfortunately," said Zillow senior economist Jeff Tucker. "It's absolutely real, that people are hurting out there and are having trouble balancing their budgets when rent has gone up that much in just 12 months."
The announcement comes as renters experienced "rollercoaster" rent hikes last year.
The typical price for an apartment in the Raleigh metro area, according to Zillow, is $1,723. Additionally, Raleigh ranks in the top five in the country for markets where rents rose the most.
Last June, Brennen Powell moved to Raleigh for a new job and is paying $2,000 a month in rent.
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"Rent here is kind of at the top of my budget," said Powell. "And I know there's a couple places just outside of Raleigh that are a little better. It's just kind of a bit much. I got this job to make more money. But all that extra money is going to paying for my rent."
Justin Coleman, who lives in the same apartment development, said his rent increased from $1,650 to $2,000.
"With that being said it's a lot. But hopefully, it's paying for itself," Coleman said.
Additionally, Ziilow's report shows that February rents increased by $6 resulting in a 0.6% uptick.
"Sorry to say, I don't see much cause for hope in terms of rent relief in our data," added Tucker. "There were there was just a brief window sort of over this last winter where rents were substantially cooling down but that seems to mostly be behind us. I think maybe the best scenario that we could kind of see going forward is just that, that this kind of roller coaster for rents slows down."
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