Believe it or not, people are finally getting a reprieve from astronomical rent prices. According to Realtor.com, in May, the U.S. rental market experienced its first year-over-year decline in the company's data history. Median rents in the West dropped 3.0%.
But Realtor.com noted one exception – the City of San Jose, California.
“San Jose, CA (1.0%) was the only large western metro seeing rent growth, but the growth rate was only one twentieth of what it was a year ago (19.3%)," the report said. "In contrast, rents in populous northeastern metros such as New York, NY (6.8%), Pittsburgh, PA (3.8%), and Boston, MA (3.3%) continued to experience faster growth."
The overall decline in rental prices doesn’t mean California is suddenly affordable. According to a recent report from the National Low Income Housing Coalition, a person needs to earn $42.25 an hour in order to afford a two-bedroom apartment in California. The median wage for California renters is just $33.67.