Rent prices in Hartford, which is expected to add more than 400 downtown apartments this year, have declined 1.1% since COVID-19 began to sweep across the state in mid-March, a new report shows.
The monthly report by ApartmentList.com said Hartford rents dipped 0.2% over the last month, and are down 0.1% compared to the year-ago period.
Rents have now declined in the Capital City for three consecutive months as year-over-year rent growth lags statewide average growth of 0.4% and the U.S. average growth of 0.2%.
The slight dip brings the median rent in Hartford to $825 for a one-bedroom apartment and $1,033 for a two-bedroom, the report said. Nationally, the average rent for a two-bedroom apartment has remained steady at $1,192 over the last year.
Stamford and New Haven, with rents falling in the recent month by 0.4% and 0.1%, respectively, were the only other major cities in the state that experienced a dip in rent prices over the last year. Stamford has the highest rent prices of all cities in Connecticut, with a median two-bedroom rent of $1,935.
While rent prices are down modestly in Hartford, New Haven and Stamford, seven of Connecticut’s 10 largest cities have recorded slight gains over the last year. New Britain, Danbury, and Norwalk have each recorded year-over-year growth of 1.8%, 1.2% and 0.8%, respectively.
Elsewhere in the U.S., median rent prices fell by more than 2% in San Francisco and Orlando, and over 1.5% in New York City, San Jose, Miami and Charlotte.
ApartmentList.com said it drew data from numerous rental listing sites, including its own. Read the full report here.
Meanwhile, landlords from Hartford and across the state earlier this month filed litigation against Gov. Ned Lamont over his April executive order aimed at preventing residential evictions during the COVID-19 crisis.
The plaintiffs in the action, filed in U.S. District Court, own or manage residential rental properties in New Haven, Waterbury, Hartford, Meriden and Bristol.
Joe Cooper is HBJ’s web editor and real estate writer. He pens “The Real Deal” column about commercial real estate.
