Atlanta room rents jump by 7%

Atlanta room rents jumped by 7% in the past year since the COVID pandemic began as people move south and New York loses its appeal.

Roommate site SpareRoom has looked at how the first year of the pandemic changed average rents and the balance in demand vs supply in key US metro areas. A clear trend has emerged, with southern metro areas experiencing the biggest growth in rents and demand.

The key metro areas with the biggest increase in demand vs supply, comparing Q1 2021 with Q1 2020 are:

1. Las Vegas +102%
2. Tampa +89%
3. Riverside +85%
4. San Diego +85%
5. Miami +82%
6. San Antonio +72%
7. Austin +68%
8. Baltimore +51%
9. Houston +44%
10. Atlanta +41%

Meanwhile, these key metro areas saw the biggest drop in demand vs supply:

1. Seattle -26%
2. Washington DC -20%
3. San Francisco/Bay Area -14%
4. Boston -4%
5. Chicago – 1%

Comparing average room rents paints a very similar picture, with the biggest rent increases seen in the following key metro areas:

1. Riverside +14%
2. Orlando +10%
3. Phoenix +10%
4. San Diego +8%
5. Atlanta +7%
6. San Antonio +6%
7. Las Vegas +4%
8. Sacramento +3%
9. Tampa +2%
10. Portland +2%

Meanwhile, rents fell most in these key metro areas:

1. New York -14%
2. Boston -12%
3. San Francisco -11%
4. Washington DC -8%
5. Seattle -7%
6. Chicago -6%
7. Baltimore -4
8. Philadelphia -3%
9. LA -3%
10. Austin -3%

New York is the second most expensive US metro area^[2] to rent a room in, with an average monthly room rent of $1,133, behind San Francisco/Bay Area ($1,192).

NYC was hardest hit, with average rents down in every borough^[3], with Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens all seeing double digit rent drops.

Bronx   -3%
Brooklyn   -11%
Manhattan   -15%
Queens   -10%
NYC Metro   -14%

No key neighborhoods in the NYC metro area saw rents rise. However, both Newark and The Heights (NJ) saw rent rises of 12% and 4% respectively.

8 of the 10 biggest drops across the metro area were in Manhattan, although Long Island City reported the single biggest fall:

1. Queens           Long Island City -27%
2. Manhattan       Chinatown -23%
3. Manhattan       Midtown Center -22%
4. Manhattan       Hell’s Kitchen -18%
5. Manhattan       Financial District -18%
6. Manhattan       Upper West Side -17%
7. Manhattan       Gramercy Park -17%
8. Brooklyn          Bushwick -16%
9. Manhattan       Kip’s Bay -16%
10. Manhattan       West Village -16%

Meanwhile, the neighborhoods seeing the biggest positive shift in demand vs supply were mostly in Queens, Upper Manhattan and Harlem:

1. New Jersey     Newark +82%
2. Manhattan       East Harlem +50%
3. Queens           Ridgewood +49%
4. Manhattan       Morningside Heights +29%
5. Manhattan       Washington Heights +28%
6. Manhattan       Harlem +27%
7. Queens           Long Island City +26%
8. Brooklyn          East Flatbush +24%
9. Manhattan       Central Park +15%
10. Manhattan       Midtown Center +14%

SpareRoom director Matt Hutchinson said: “A year on from COVID and it’s clear to see that the big rental shift is towards southern cities and away from the north. That could simply be the pull of warmer weather, especially over the colder months, with COVID forcing us all to socialize outdoors.

But it could be that New York is losing its appeal, as remote working becomes the new norm and people seek out more space and cheaper rents. The real test will come when the hospitality, tourism and entertainment sectors can fully reopen.”