According to a report from RentCafe, an online rental marketplace, the price on new apartment rental listings have risen 7% in the last 5 years, yet the square footage is 8% smaller than 10 years ago.
The report took into consideration apartments from 100 of the largest cities in the nation that have at least 50 units in a building.
The average square footage of all new apartment listings, including Studio Apartments is 934 square feet, this year. Merely 10 years ago the average square footage of new apartment listings was 1034 square feet. The average monthly rent is $1,296 this year, when the average in 2011 was $977.
The largest change was seen in Studio Apartments which displayed an average of18% decrease in size this year. Followed by one bedroom apartments, shrinking by 5%. However, not all rentals are getting smaller, the report did show a 1% increase in two bedroom apartments.
Many Americans are choosing to rent over buy as of late, and the rental costs are rising faster than most incomes. More than 21 million people spend at least 30% of their income on rent, according to a report from the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University.
