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Where the rents are higher—and lower—this year

By Prashant Gopal

Where the rents are higher—and lower—this year

Foreclosures are up, so rents must be coming down, right? Right—up to a point. Here's the catch: In places where the local economy is (relatively) strong, rents are flat or up over last year. (And if you recall, rents in 2007 weren't exactly cheap.) So, yes, if you're looking to rent in Arizona or California, two states that have been walloped by the housing crisis, then you're in luck. But if you're looking to rent in Seattle or Houston, where local economies are humming, don't expect any deals. To see the top 10 and bottom 10 metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) where rents are rising and falling the most, read on.

The annual rent increases and drops reflect the change in effective rents in the third quarter of 2008 compared with the third quarter last year. The rents are calculated using a weighted average of all sizes of apartments and do not include single-family home rentals. The "effective rent" factors in any concessions offered by landlords. An average rent concession of 4% is equal to a half-month of free rent on annual leases, 8% is equivalent to a one-month discount, and so on. The areas ranked are not cities, but metropolitan statistical areas as defined by the Census Bureau. Click here for full descriptions of the individual metro areas.

Source: AXIOMetrics