San Francisco ranks No. 4 for most expensive rent in the U.S.

San Francisco is the fourth most expensive city for renters in the country, with a median rent of $2,995 for active listings, per Dwellsy's August report.

Why it matters: Already-pricey rents are more expensive in 2022, making it tougher for people to afford housing.

What's happening: High demand and critically low supply drives rents up.

• Once landlords realize they can charge more for a unit, "they're going to keep increasing the price to capture as much profit as they can," Redfin chief economist Daryl Fairweather told Axios' Emily Peck.

By the numbers: Rent in San Francisco increased 11.1% from August 2021 to August 2022, the report showed.

Driving the news: Demand for single-family homes for rent is driving the market, per Dwellsy, an apartment rental agency. Rent prices for those homes are up more than 36% year over year, while apartment rents only rose 4.7%.

Yes, but: The cost of rent could finally be peaking. Realtor.com's latest report shows August's median rental prices nationwide were down from July, the first decrease since November 2021, Emily writes.

Editor's note: This story was corrected to show that the median rent data was based on active listings from Dwellsy, not all rental units.