【World Property Journal】Rental Home Price Growth in U.S. Slowed to 5-Year Low From Coronavirus

According to Zillow's latest April 2020 Real Estate Market Report, home rental prices slowed more than they had in at least five years when the coronavirus pandemic hit. But the for-sale market continues to heat up after a slower early April.

Rent prices had been chugging along at a remarkably stable pace since 2018, with the growth rate rarely rising or falling much from one month to the next. That changed in April, the first reading since the coronavirus pandemic struck the U.S.

The typical rent in the U.S. is $1,594, up 2.9% from a year ago, which is the slowest pace of annual growth since December 2017ii. Rents were growing 3.4% year over year in March, and that half a percentage point slowdown is the most dramatic since at least 2014.

Year-over-year rent price growth slowed from March to April in 33 of the 35 largest U.S. metros, with Columbus and Cleveland being the two exceptions. Rents outright fell from March in 16 large metros, and were flat in two others. The biggest drops were in Austin (down 1.1% month over month), Charlotte (down 0.7%), Baltimore (down 0.6%) and San Jose, Calif. (down 0.6%).
 

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