MEMPHIS, Tenn. —According to a recent survey, Memphis had the 5th highest rent increase among major US cities over the past year.
Experts said it’s a combination of two things: first, housing demand is high and second, the cost of building new units has skyrocketed.
According to a realtor.com survey, rent in the town of Bluff has increased over 29% over the past year. This is the 5th largest increase among the 50 largest US cities.
Porsha Holloway said her rent could soon go up by $30, which is a blow to her budget.
“It would affect me a lot because the cost of living these days is like everything is going up, like everything is going up. So if the rent were to go up, that would make me work even harder, so you’re basically robbing Peter to pay Paul,” Holloway said.
Roshun Austin is a real estate expert at The Works Inc., a community development company.
She said rents were rising due to high demand. In addition, a sharp increase in the cost of building materials.
“It costs more for contractors and developers to build units,” Austin said. “Supplies are blocked. Much of it can be linked to a pandemic. We are unable to obtain supplies. We have a shortage of truckers.
According to the survey, the median monthly rent in Memphis was around $1,300 in December. That’s still hundreds of dollars less than most cities, despite the increase.
Austin fears the alarming trend will reverse anytime soon.
“And the warehouses. They are human beings who may have suffered from COVID and so they were often front line workers and so they contracted the virus which resulted in warehouses being closed for weeks due to the covid outbreaks,” Austin said.
For many, this means finding an alternative form of housing.
“So people will have to live differently, and they’ve already started to do that,” Austin said. “A lot of people we found are moving to extended stay hotels, or sleeping with family members.”
If you’re facing high rental costs, Austin said you might consider buying instead of renting. Especially because, a house belongs to you, and it can become a valuable asset.
Comments are closed.