Editor’s Note: Each Friday, WRAL TechWire takes a deep dive into the Triangle’s real estate markets, including the region’s rental markets, when to rent and when to buy, and why rents are rising again in the Triangle, the topic of today’s report.

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RALEIGH – Renters in Raleigh may continue to feel squeezed as there’s no price relief in sight.  In fact, according to new data, rents increased in Raleigh by 3.73% over the last 12 months.

Apartment List, which tracks rental rates in 100 markets nationwide, says Raleigh rents rose in February for the first time in five months, with an increase of 0.2% month-over-month.

There is some positive news for renters.  That’s as the price appreciation year-over-year in Raleigh appears to have slowed to the lowest rate since March 2021.

But that five months of slowing rent growth, month-over-month, isn’t likely to last, as historically, rental price rises in the spring and summer months of each year.  Which could mean that the region might see an increase in year-over-year price appreciation during those months, as well.

Price of rent keeps rising

And while the rental market in Raleigh appears to be returning toward more historical, seasonal trends, in that rents decrease in the fall and winter months while increasing in the spring and summer months, that doesn't mean that prices returned to pre-pandemic levels.

Actually, the data shows that renting in Raleigh is now 27.5% more expensive than it was three years ago, at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States.

Now, Raleigh renters can expect to pay $1,288 monthly for a one-bedroom apartment and $1,465 for a two-bedroom apartment.

For many, that price is such that agreeing to a lease with those terms would make their household cost-burdened, or the term for when housing costs and other costs associated with sheltering an individual or a family exceed 30% of household income.

In Wake County, more than one in four households is cost-burdened.  But renters in Wake County are much more likely to be cost-burdened, according to an annual data release from the North Carolina Housing Coalition.

“Rents are really high, and housing is really expensive, particularly in areas that are growing,”  said Stephanie Watkins-Cruz, director of housing policy for the North Carolina Housing Coalition in a January interview with WRAL TechWire.  “That is a persistent trend in the Triangle.”

While 16% of Wake County homeowners are cost-burdened, 45% of renters are cost-burdened, the data show.

“It’s the rise in rents, the high demand, the supply not keeping up with demand, and we’re also at the intersection of wages and what rents are like,” said Watkins-Cruz last month.  “If you’re earning a minimum wage or you have a salaried job, more consistently, both and both of those categories are feeling the impact.”

Housing crunch: Whether buying or renting, rising costs hammer Wake households