Rents are rising more slowly than prices new report shows

Jed Kolko, chief economist at Trulia, has a new report out on home asking prices and rents that appears encouraging to investors looking to the long-term value of rentals and rental price increases.

Kolko reports that in November, rents rose 3% year-over-year nationally and rising fastest in the 25 markets of San Francisco, Seattle, and Portland while falling slightly in Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia. Rent gains are still being outpaced by price gains in all of the large rental markets.

“Even in San Francisco where rents galloped ahead by 12.0% year-over-year, asking home prices rose faster, at 15.2%. With rents continuing to rise more slowly than prices, buying a home is becoming less affordable relative to renting,” Kolko said in the report.