It’s been a tumultuous year for renters. Many are dealing with soaring rents. Others, after more than 20 months of working from home, are discovering just how cramped their spaces are. And still others are finding that the most desirable apartment units in their communities are disappearing off the market at record speed.
Those are some of the findings from Zumper’s 2021 Annual Rent Report.
The biggest challenge for renters? Rents have risen dramatically in 2021. Zumper reported that the median one-bedroom rent in the country rose 11.6 percent this year compared to 2020. The median two-bedroom rent has increased 13.6 percent.
Zumper reported that 51.3 percent of responsents in their rent report were paying more in rent now than they were before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
In the Midwest, rent growth has been a bit more tempered, but two Tennessee cities — Knoxville and Nashville — both made Zumper’s list of the 20 U.S. cities that saw rents grow the fastest in 2021.
In Knoxville, the median one-bedroom rent, which hit $1,050 this year, is up 23.5 percent from 2020. In Nashville, the median one-bedroom rent, which is now $1,540, is up 23.2 percent from last year.
For those looking to move, finding a new apartment has become more challenging this year. Zumper reported that the number of respondents who said they filed just one application during their apartment search dropped by 14.5 percentage points. That’s a sign of how difficult it has become for people to find rentals in their markets.
Other interesting results from Zumper’s report:
25 percent of renters said they worked from home during 2021
82 percent of renters said they plan to move in the next 12 months
The number of renters who repored living with their parents dropped 5 percent from last year
