In the recent years, rental prices in the United States have been too expensive especially for millennials (18- to 34-year-olds) who are just starting out with their lives or careers. If you belong in the said age bracket, here is some good news for you!
RealtyTrac surveyed the entire country to find the cheapest rental markets and found out that Huntsville, Alabama, offers the most affordable rental housing.
As a matter of fact, more than half of the most affordable rental markets in the US are located below the Mason-Dixon Line. Other places in the South that offer friendly rental prices to millennials include Fulton County, Georgia, where just about 25 percent of average monthly paychecks in the region are needed to afford an average $1,300 monthly rent for a three-bedroom apartment. Because of the affordable rent, Fulton County saw an influx of millennials from 2008 to 2013. More millennials are expected to move into the county by 2016.
"Millennial magnet" San Francisco is still a hit among young adults. The population growth of 18- to 34-year-olds between 2008 and 2013 saw a growth of 62 percent. This rate, however, is only second to Alexandria, Virginia. The hip suburb of Washington, D.C. saw a net millennial influx of 82 percent during the same time frame. Denver came in third with a millennial population growth of 47 percent.
RealtyTrac, however, listed the San Francisco Bay Area and Manhattan as the most expensive rental markets for millennials. Other coastal cities like Virginia Beach and Orlando also ask for steep prices.
Furthermore, RealtyTrac Vice President Daren Blomquist encouraged millennials renting in areas where home prices is still relatively affordable to "take the plunge into homeownership."
"Renters in 2016 will be caught between a bit of a rock and a hard place, with rents becoming less affordable as they rise faster than wages, but home prices are rising even faster than rents," Blomquist explained. He emphasized that the rising rates next year will make it tougher to buy a home.