Providence Rents Increased 17% Year Over Year, According to New Report
Tuesday, January 05, 2021
While Providence has been hit hard by the economic downturn tied to the pandemic and a recession, Providence rents have skyrocketed over the past year
The rent for a one-bedroom apartment jumped by 14.5% and a two bedroom increased by a staggering 17.5% in Providence, according to data released by Zumper.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTWhile the biggest and most expensive cities saw price decreases due to the flight of workers to less expensive areas of the country, Providence and other second-tier cities saw significant increases.
According to Zumper. “The list of the country’s most expensive rental markets may look quite different from 2020 or even the past few years due to price trends that came about in 2020. Previously hyper-expensive markets like San Francisco and New York City could be overtaken by lightning fast-growing cities like Newark, NJ, or expensive cities that have resisted the decline like San Diego, CA.”
Boston which is ranked as the 3rd most expensive market saw a 17% decrease in the cost of a one-bedroom and a 10% decline in the cost of a two-bedroom.
Providence with the cost increases jumped to 15th most expensive rental market. According to Zumper, Providence is now more expensive than Seattle, Atlanta and Chicago.
Median prices for Providence are $1,530 for a one-bedroom and $1,880 for a two-bedroom.
Numerous new apartment projects come online in 2020 including the 1290 Westminster project and Chestnut Commons to name a couple.
According to Zumper, "The Zumper National Rent Report analyzes rental data from over 1 million active listings across the United States. Data is aggregated on a monthly basis to calculate median asking rents for the top 100 metro areas by population, providing a comprehensive view of the current state of the market. The report is based on all data available in the month prior to publication."
Housing in Focus
As GoLocal reported in December there is no relief for those looking to buy a single-family home in Rhode Island.
Rhode Island single-family home sales continued to increase at record levels in November according to a report released Thursday by the Rhode Island Association of Realtors.
Closing activity rose 26.4 percent from November of 2019 and the median price of those sales increased 11.4 percent to $323,000.
RI Realtors data also shows an increase in out-of-state buyers, particularly from New York and Massachusetts. Last month, home buyer traffic from those areas grew 159 and 63 percent, respectively, from November of 2019.
“The features buyers want are changing and that’s fueling demand. Offices or zoom rooms, exercise rooms and open space are very desirable amenities right now. It makes sense for people living in cities and more expensive areas to make a move if they are now able to work remotely in a place that more affordably meets all their needs,” said Leann D’Ettore, president of the Rhode Island Association of Realtors.
According to the realtors, a six-month supply of homes on the market is considered an indication of a market balanced between supply and demand -- only a 1.7-month supply of single-family homes remained in Rhode Island’s housing market last month. That represented a decrease from the already low 3.3-month supply seen 12 months earlier.
The lack of inventory created fierce competition among buyers, which in turn reduced the number of days a listing stayed on the market from 59 days in November 2019 to 41 days last month.
“The last time we saw such a strong sellers’ market was the early 2000s, but the conditions are completely different now. That frenzy was caused by the rampant availability of sub-prime loans. This time, the market has been driven by scarce inventory, historically low interest rates and buyers’ desire for a comfortable home base in the era of COVID,” said D’Ettore.
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