Why metro Atlanta's rental rates are increasing


Ranking by Year-Over-Year Rental Rate Increase (2nd quarter 2015 to 2nd quarter 2016)

  1. Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Fla. -- 26.1 percent 
  2. New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, La. -- 20.6 percent
  3. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Wash. -- 16.6 percent
  4. Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, Fla. -- 15.7 percent
  5. Port St. Lucie, Fla. -- 15.2 percent 
  6. Knoxville, Tenn. -- 14.9 percent
  7. Syracuse, N.Y. -- 14.8 percent 
  8. Huntsville, Ala. -- 14.4 percent
  9. Charleston-North Charleston, S.C. -- 13.7 percent 
  10. Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-Goleta, Calif. -- 13.1 percent

The metro Atlanta region experienced a surge in average rental rate increases for single-family homes between April and the end of June, according to a recent national housing industry report.

RentRange said Monday the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, Ga.-metropolitan area experienced a 12.3 percent spike in rental rates during this period. The report examined the top 25 U.S. Metropolitan Statistical Areas by average rental rate for single family, three-bedroom homes between the second quarter of 2016, and the same quarter in 2015.

The Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, Ga. area was ranked 13th. The Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Fla. area had the highest change in rent rates with 26.1 percent increase. The New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, La. Area followed with a 20.6 percent rental rate hike.

States along the Sun Belt – particularly areas in Florida and California – had some of the highest increases in rental rates. The report attributes the rise to surging home values. End result: growing single-family rental markets with high rent increases and low vacancy rates, RentRange officials said.

The report's included data on 250,000 single-family homes gathered each month from sources such as property managers, landlords and listing websites.

Click below for more of the AJC's recent coverage on rental increases and the state of the housing market in metro Atlanta: