Record-setting month-over-month rent increases for apartments in some U.S. markets seem likely to continue until fall. The gateway cities, which have been slower to recover, are showing signs of life again and should see rent growth acceleration into 2022, according to Yardi Matrix. Mounting concerns of an extended inflationary period threaten to pump the brakes on a white-hot recovery.
With an increase of 0.88 percent from April, May 2021 saw the largest month-to-month average percentage rent increase since Yardi Matrix started collecting rent data. April 2021 recorded the third-largest monthly rent increase, and in the short term these trends are expected to continue as cities can fully reopen. Seasonal pressures should begin to put a damper on rent growth for most markets toward the end of the year, but that dampening effect will not be enough to offset the positive pressures from pent-up demand for the amenities that cities have to offer, and many markets will see record
