Richmond rents rise as cheap apartments disappear
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Affordable apartments in Virginia are disappearing as luxury rentals multiply, according to Harvard researchers.
Why it matters: Renters already burdened by high costs have fewer low-priced options to choose from.
By the numbers: In the past decade, units renting for under $1,000 a month (inflation-adjusted) fell by more than 32% in Virginia, per a report from Harvard's Joint Center for Housing Studies.
- Meanwhile, a building boom focused on upscale apartments helped increase the supply of $2,000-plus units in Virginia by nearly 50%.
- Those stats are for the entire state, from traditionally more affordable parts like Danville ($1,000 average rent, per Zillow) and Bristol ($1,350) to pricier NoVa, where rents top $2,850 in Arlington and Fairfax.
Zoom in: Richmond, of course, is not immune from the wild rent price surges of recent years.
- Last month, apartments here were renting for an average of $1,745 a month, Zillow found in a recent report.
- And Richmond, per Zillow, was one of a handful of markets where rent prices were still going up month-over month.
Threat level: Three years ago, renters could still find apartments in some parts of the city for just over $1,000 or $1,100 a month, we reported then.
- Today, that same budget gets you a room in an apartment with strangers, if the posts on Lindsey's List, the Facebook housing and jobs board, is any indication.
- Locals who post and are looking to live alone on that budget are universally met with the same reply: "Lol. Good luck."
The bottom line: Affordable apartments seem to be a thing of the past — especially in RVA.