Study sees rents stabilizing nationally
State tenants still seeing hikes
Crushing rent hikes appear to be easing for renters in many of the largest metropolitan areas nationally, according to Realtor.com’s study of October rates nationally, but tenants can expect continued upward pressure in the coming year — and if individual complaints online are true, landlords with itchy fingers on the eviction button.
Statewide and nationally, renters have been absorbing big increases at renewal as home prices and mortgage rates have climbed, forcing some families to postpone a purchase for another year. On Thursday, an index of 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages fell by the largest margin since at least 2009, to 6.9 percent from 7.14 percent the day before as calculated by the Mortgage Bankers Association.
Realtor.com includes the Hartford area in its rent study, omitting other cities like New Haven, Norwalk and Stamford. In a Realtor.com survey of landlords nationally, about 18 percent indicated they plan to hike rents at least 10 percent for some units in the coming year. That was down from a quarter of landlords who indicated so last July.
The average one-bedroom apartment in Hartford cost just over $1,500 October according to Realtor.com, a 4.8 percent increase from a year earlier that was slightly higher than the average increase nationally. As of Thursday in Hartford and immediately adjacent neighborhoods, Apartments.com had about 100 listings for one-bedroom units at $1,500 or less, and a slightly larger number above that price.
Two-bedroom apartments in the Hartford area averaged just a 2.7 percent increase to about $1,900, a full percentage point below the rent inflation for twobedroom units nationally.
In Stamford, Apartments.com listed the average one-bedroom unit at $2,450 a month. Norwalk and Danbury were less costly at $1,800 for a one-bedroom, with New Haven better yet at $1,600.
On Facebook and other social media sites, posts continue to circulate of landlords evicting tenants for minimal cause. On Wednesday, a woman posted to the Rentals in CT Facebook page she was shown the door after missing one month’s rent due to staying home to care for a daughter, and was looking for a twobedroom anywhere in Connecticut while working for Amazon, as a substitute teacher and other “side hustles” in her words.
The Partnership for Strong Communities has been holding an affordable housing conference this week addressing both the rental and purchase markets.
“I’m hearing it in my realtor practice, I heard it when I was knocking on doors, I heard it from my town officials — quality rental supply is wildly limited,” said state Rep. Joe Zullo, R-East Haven, a partner in the law firm Zullo & Jacks who spoke Wednesday on a legislative panel as part of the conference. “If you don’t want to acknowledge it as a crisis, it’s bordering on a crisis.”