This city has passed San Francisco as America's most expensive to rent

For the first time in almost 10 years, San Francisco is no longer the most expensive city to rent in the US. Photo / Unsplash

San Francisco has long been famous for rent as high as its Golden Gate bridge but another city has finally stolen the title as the most expensive rental market in America. According to experts, Covid-19 is to blame.

In San Francisco, a one-bedroom apartment will cost you, on average, UD$2,800.

However, the big apple officially boasts the biggest rent bills, with an average of US$2,810 for a one-bedroom apartment.

While the difference seems inconsequential, it represents a massive jump in rent for New Yorkers over the last few years. Just two years earlier, the median rent for a one-bedroom apartment was US$800 lower than San Francisco according to data from an apartment listing website Zumper.

This is the first time New York has beat San Francisco since Zumper began tracking US rental markets in 2014.

When Covid-19 hit last year, New York's real estate market took a beating but seems to have come back swinging in 2021. Rents have increased by nearly 20 per cent since January compared to 5 per cent in San Francisco.

Also on the list of America's five most expensive rental cities is Boston (US$2,300); San Jose, California,(US$2,200), and Washington, DC, (US$2,160).

However, people still seem to want to live in New York. Between March and June this year New York City's rental applications doubled between March and June of this year and San Francisco saw a 79 per cent increase in prospective renters according to rental listing website RentCafe.

According to economist Molly Boesel, an inability to buy has pushed more people towards renting.
"Ultimately, for would-be homebuyers who have been either priced out of the market or unable to find a home in today's supply-constrained market, detached rentals are overwhelmingly preferred — and remain in high demand," she said.

Whether New York will stay ahead as the most expensive city, Zumper data journalist Jeff Andrews said they couldn't be certain. tracked rental markets since 2014.

New York isn't the only city whose rent is growing; Salt Lake City; Knoxville, Tennessee; Raleigh, North Carolina; Austin, Texas, and Phoenix have also had median rents increase.