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Kansas City, MO
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Sorry, renters: Annual U.S. rents climbed again in June — especially in certain major cities — after recently falling for the first time in years.

But thankfully, it’s not all bad news.

New data from online apartment marketplace Rent.com shows that although prices rose slightly last month, they’re still lower than summer 2022, when surging year-over-year growth hit its peak. Overall, rents are also rising slower than usual for this time of year, giving renters reason to feel good about the market's outlook for the rest of 2023.

What the data says

U.S. rents registered their first annual decline in May in over three years, falling 0.6%. They rose again in June by 0.5%, bringing the national median rent to $2,029.

Kansas City experienced the most year-over-year rent growth, but places in California dominate the list of cities with the biggest annual rent increases with three spots in the top 10.

These are the metropolitan areas where rent has increased the most in the past year, according to Rent.com’s analysis:

  1. Kansas City, Missouri (rent prices up 16% from last summer)
  2. Providence-Warwick, Rhode Island-Massachusetts (up 11.24%)
  3. Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, Minnesota-Wisconsin (up 10.32%)
  4. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, California (up 9.42%)
  5. Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, North Carolina-South Carolina (up 7.21%)
  6. Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin, Tennessee (up 6.56%)
  7. Hartford-East Hartford-Middletown, Connecticut (up 5.97%)
  8. San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, California (up 5.77%)
  9. Columbus, Ohio (up 5.42%)
  10. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, California (up 5.05%)

The takeaway

Renters hoping that June would lead to another month of annual price declines can still feel optimistic about the direction the rental market is heading — even in the areas listed above.

According to Rent.com’s June 2022 rent report, cities with the highest average annual one-bedroom rent increases posted price jumps ranging from over 37% to an astounding 121.2%. What’s more, from October 2021 to August 2022, year-over-year prices increased by double digits, averaging 14.65%.

So while prices didn’t fall again last month, circumstances for renters are generally much better than they were this time last year. Prices have been cooling since September thanks in part to lower-than-normal seasonal demand and a supply of new inventory becoming available, providing “some relief for renters across the industry,” Rent.com says in the report.

More from Money:

These 5 Cities Have Seen a Huge Drop in Homes for Sale

10 Cities Where Most of the Homes for Sale Cost $1 Million and Up

For Buyers, the Housing Market Feels 'Like 2021 All Over Again'

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