U.S. renters have spent over $12 billion more on rent in 2018 than in last year, about a 2.6 percent increase from the 2017 figure.
The latest report from San Francisco-based HotPads, a subsidiary of online real estate database company Zillow Group, shows that U.S. households spent a record $504 billion on rent last year, more than the entire Gross Domestic Product of Belgium, which amounts to nearly $495 billion.
The report attributed the rent hikes to rising rents throughout much of this year, despite a decrease in the number of households who rent their homes.
There were about 43.2 million renter households in the United States in 2018, a slight decline of 100,000 from 2017.
Throughout 2018, rents rose about 3 percent year over year, continuing a gradual slowdown in rent appreciation that began in mid-2016. The current median rent stands at $1,475, up 3 percent from a year ago.
Among the 50 largest metro areas in the U.S., renters in the New York City metro area spent the most on rent this year, with a total of $55.6 billion, as the total rent has increased on a yearly basis in nearly every major market across the country that was covered by the HotPads report.
Cities experiencing the fasted rent growth are Orlando, Las Vegas and Phoenix, at a rate more than twice as fast as the national median.
Renters in Orlando and Las Vegas paid about $4.4 billion for rent in 2018, while those in Phoenix spent about $7.5 billion.
The report attributed the rent hikes to rising rents throughout much of this year, despite a decrease in the number of households who rent their homes.
There were about 43.2 million renter households in the United States in 2018, a slight decline of 100,000 from 2017.
Throughout 2018, rents rose about 3 percent year over year, continuing a gradual slowdown in rent appreciation that began in mid-2016. The current median rent stands at $1,475, up 3 percent from a year ago.
Among the 50 largest metro areas in the U.S., renters in the New York City metro area spent the most on rent this year, with a total of $55.6 billion, as the total rent has increased on a yearly basis in nearly every major market across the country that was covered by the HotPads report.
Cities experiencing the fasted rent growth are Orlando, Las Vegas and Phoenix, at a rate more than twice as fast as the national median.
Renters in Orlando and Las Vegas paid about $4.4 billion for rent in 2018, while those in Phoenix spent about $7.5 billion.
