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December 17, 2019

Zillow: Greater Hartford renters paid $16.1B in last decade

HBJ File Photo The Hartford skyline.
By Joe Cooper

Greater Hartford renters paid $16.1 billion in rent over the last decade, according to a new report.

The analysis by online real estate database Zillow said the amount renters in the Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford metro area paid from 2010 to 2019 was one of the lowest cumulative amounts compared to the other top 50 U.S. metro areas over that period.

Zillow said rent in Greater Hartford jumped by 38.8 percent in the 2010s. That rate ranks in between other increases recorded in the nearby Boston (48.8 percent increase), New York (35 percent) and Providence (31.9 percent) metro areas.

In 2019, Hartford area renters paid $1.8 billion in rent, down 1.8 percent compared to 2018.

The Memphis (2.2 percent decrease), New Orleans (1.5 percent) and Oklahoma City (1.1 percent) metros were the only other areas where renters paid less this year vs. 2018.

Nationally, renters spent a total of $4.5 trillion on rent during the 2010s, and a record-breaking $512 billion on housing, Zillow said. Also, renters spent almost 3 percent more on rent in 2019 vs. the year prior, and 46.5 percent more than in 2009.

Zillow said the average rent in the U.S, is $1,600 a month, up 2.3 percent from a year ago. 

Rent has been steadily rising since 2012, which Zillow says has created a need for more affordable housing options and has encouraged renters to live with roommates or at home longer.

"While the total amount of rent paid has increased each year this decade, that trend is by no means immutable," said Zillow Group Economist Joshua Clark. 

"With rental appreciation expected to decrease in the coming year and a homeownership rate that has been ticking up over the past few years, a small or even negative change in total rental spending could be in the cards in the early 2020s,” Clark said.

Read Zillow’s full analysis here

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