Rent is rising faster in NV than almost anywhere else in US, listing site finds

Rental prices for a one-bedroom apartment in Nevada are up 22% since last year, according to an analysis by a nationwide rental listings website.

Rent.com found that average rent for an average one-bedroom apartment was $1,814 in the third quarter of 2021, up from $1,487 a year ago. That represents a 22% increase — one of the largest in the nation.

The rise in prices of two-bedroom apartments was even steeper — 27% in Nevada. Their average two-bedroom apartment listing was $2,145, compared to $1,137 one year prior.

Only four states — Idaho, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Florida — saw a bigger percentage increase in the price of a one-bedroom apartment. Only Idaho saw a bigger percentage increase for two-bedroom apartments.

Rent.com found that rent for an average one-bedroom apartment is up over 10.5% year-to-year nationwide. Two bedrooms are up nearly 12%. But several states recorded price drops.

Rent hikes varied by city. Two Nevada cities saw some of the highest spikes in the country.

Reno saw one-bedroom apartment prices spike by 31% — the seventh highest price percentage growth rate among the large cities ranked by the website. Henderson rounded out the top 10 at 24%.

Las Vegas, the only other Nevada city analyzed, saw its one-bedroom apartment prices rise by 17%.

Two-bedroom listings in all three Nevada cities rose by even higher percentages: 55% in Reno and 39% in Henderson. Only two cities — Arlington, Texas, and Jacksonville, Fla. — had steeper percentage increases.

Rent.com used internal data from its rental property listings. Their findings align with similar analyses done by other listings websites and industry groups. In August, for example, Zillow reported that the typical rental rate in the Las Vegas metropolitan area was 22.7% higher year over year.

That same month, the Nevada Realtors Association pointed out to its members that the state lacks rental control laws, meaning, in their own words printed in a newsletter, that landlords were free to “raise the roof.”

In September, the Clark County Commission discussed fast-rising apartment prices but took no action. During the discussion, a county administrator noted that Nevada home prices are “rising five times faster than paychecks.”