Rent drops in expensive cities as 2021 begins

Market Trend

Rent drops in expensive cities as 2021 begins

A flood of people leaving pricey places like New York and Boston have sent rents in those cities plummeting, while rents in traditionally more affordable areas have climbed.

San Francisco, New York City and Boston are still the most expensive rental markets in the U.S., but now many months into the coronavirus pandemic they are all now beginning 2021 with significantly lower average rents than they had a year ago.

That’s according to a new report, out today, from digital marketplace firm Zumper. The report shows that right now, the median rent for a one-bedroom unit in San Francisco is $2,660, making it the most expensive rental market in the country. In New York City, the median rent is $2,410 and in Boston it’s $2,150.

Those prices are all still very expensive, but they nevertheless represent major year-over-year drops. In San Francisco, for example, median rent in January 2020 was a whopping $3,500 for a one-bedroom. In New York, it was $3,000 and in Boston it was $2,590.

The report refers to these drops as “astounding,” adding that they speak to “how far prices have dropped in these expensive markets.”

Zumper’s report shows that currently the other top-10 most expensive rental markets in the U.S. are, in order from most to least pricey, San Jose, Los Angeles and Oakland, all in California, followed by Washington, D.C., San Diego, Newark, and Santa Ana, California.