Rents around the US are growing more slowly than they have in years

In another boost for some renters, people's income rose faster in March than rental costs, giving people a bit more financial wiggle room. 

According to the online real estate marketplace's findings, single-family rents rose 2.5% on an annual basis in March, the slowest rate Zillow has recorded since 2015, when it started collecting the data. Zillow defines single-family homes as attached or semi-attached row houses, duplexes, quadruplexes and townhomes. Multifamily home rents were $1,757 in March, up 1.3% from a year ago.

Among the largest U.S. cities, monthly rents cooled the most in Austin, Texas, where prices are down 2.3% as of March compared to a year ago. Rents are down 1.6% year over year in both Tampa, Florida, and San Antonio, Texas, Zillow found.

Rent prices in 50 major metro areas (Symbol map)

While the cost of keeping a roof over your head is cooling, Americans still spend a large chunk of their income on rent. The median household spent 26.5% of its income on rent last month, Zillow found. 

Meanwhile, a household must earn at least $76,400 a year to comfortably afford the typical monthly rent of $1,910 — that's up 35% from before the pandemic. The data shows single-family rents have surged nearly 45% since early 2020, while multifamily rents have jumped 28% over that period. 

Source: MSN