Lovely Releases Q3 Rental Market Report Revealing Key U.S. Trends

SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwired - Oct 22, 2014) - Today, Lovely (https://livelovely.com), the first true rental marketplace, released the Lovely Q3 Rental Market Report to shed light on key trends facing Americans in today's market. The report found that major cities such as San Francisco, Los Angeles and Chicago experienced the highest rent prices in almost three years, and ranked the top 30 most expensive cities to rent in the United States, with the majority of those cities located in California.

Blake Pierson, Lovely Founder and Chief Product Officer of parent company RentPath, understands the challenges facing Americans when looking to both rent and lease an apartment or home. He says, "Lovely releases quarterly reports to arm both renters and landlords with relevant market data to give them more insight and control over the decision-making process."

For this report, Lovely analyzed U.S. marketplace data, featuring the most comprehensive set of listings from both Lovely's posting platform, Lovely Pro, and more than 70 data partners nationwide to provide in-depth analysis of five major U.S. markets, including San Francisco Bay Area, New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Washington, D.C. Data from these findings highlight citywide quarterly progress from January 2012 through September 2014 in each of the following areas:

• Median rent overall and by bed count

• Neighborhoods above and below the citywide median

• Most pet-friendly areas of each city

Key Findings

• Top 30 most expensive cities in America: Palo Alto has the highest citywide median rent ($3,645) in the U.S., followed by San Francisco ($3,488). California hosts 21 of the top cities on the list, which also includes cities from New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Florida.

• San Francisco Bay Area: Renters are flocking to San Francisco Bay Area, and the rental market can't keep up -- in the last quarter alone, rent prices in the city have increased by more than six percent prompting renters to seek rentals in the surrounding areas such as Oakland, which experienced a 20 percent increase in median rent in the past year.

• New York City: For the first time in 2014, New York's citywide median rent fell below $3,000. Although Tribeca tops the charts as the most expensive neighborhood with a median rent of $5,000, Battery Park City is close on its heels, nearing $4,900 after seeing a 28 percent rent increase compared to last year.

• Los Angeles: Despite a more than 10 percent rise in median rent since the third quarter of 2013, Los Angeles renters could still secure a two-bedroom apartment for $2,100 -- which was equal to the median rental rate of a San Francisco studio during the third quarter of 2014.

• Washington D.C.: Renters in D.C. can save 29 percent by living with one roommate in a two bedroom unit, compared to a one-bedroom alone, or 18 percent by living with one roommate in a two-bedroom unit compared to living alone in a studio apartment.

• Chicago: Rent prices in Chicago have been on the rise for the past three years. The city saw a tremendous increase of over 12 percent compared to the previous year. Neighborhoods with the largest year-over-year rent increases included Roseland (71 percent) and the Gage Park (54 percent).

Report Methodology:
Lovely provides a deep look into the U.S. rental market. Trends represented in the Lovely Rental Market report reflect third quarter 2014 rental market data based on the comprehensive set of aggregated rental inventory posted on Lovely between January 2012 and September 2014, and is no longer active. Prices reported are as indicated upon posting and do not capture the final pricing terms on closed lease agreements. In addition to Lovely's posting platform, Lovely Pro, Lovely obtains listings by partnering with over 70 external providers to populate its marketplace with rental listings.

The "Top 30" list of the highest rent prices across the nation was compiled using Lovely's Q3 2014 rental data. Cities with a population greater than 50,000, per 2010 U.S. Census data, and more than 100 expired listings in Q3 2014, were considered for this list.

About Lovely:
Lovely is the first true rental marketplace designed to help renters land their new homes without hassle or stress and help property owners find the most qualified tenants through control and transparency. Lovely is focused on making the renting process better by allowing renters to search, apply and pay directly from their mobile device or on their desktop, while giving property owners the tools to market their units and find the best tenants. Available as a free service on the web and both iOS and Android devices, Lovely was acquired by RentPath, Inc. in April 2014 and continues to operate out of San Francisco as a standalone brand. Learn more at https://livelovely.com.

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