With slowing rent, here's what $2,000 gets you in the D.C. area
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
A monthly rent of $2,000 can get you a 853-square-foot apartment in the D.C. area, smaller than the national estimate of 1,103 square feet, per a new Redfin report.
The big picture: Across the country, renters with that budget can afford 70 more square feet than they could in 2022, when rents peaked — enough for a small office, according to Redfin.
What they're saying: Brand-new apartments flooded the market over the past few years, helping to slow rent hikes.
- "Renters are getting more bang for their buck than they were during the pandemic because asking rents have since stabilized below their record high and incomes have continued to climb," Redfin senior economist Sheharyar Bokhari wrote in the report.
Between the lines: The median asking rent, or the cost of a new lease, was recently $2,055 in the D.C. area and $1,615 nationwide, per the report.
- Researchers analyzed apartments in buildings with five or more units that were listed on Redfin.com or Rent.com between last August and October.
Reality check: Many are pouring money into rent.
- Over a quarter of U.S. renters spend more than half of their income on housing, census data shows.
What we're watching: As people postpone home purchases, increased apartment demand and less apartment construction pave the way for higher rents.