Experts say many factors are responsible for astronomical rents, including a nationwide housing shortage and low rental vacancies.
With soaring demand, microchip shortages and supply chain issues, buying a new car has never cost more.
Economists worry about the impact of rent increases on inflation because the big jumps in new leases feed into the U.S. consumer price index, which is used to measure inflation. Things have gotten so bad in Boston, which has nearly overtaken San Francisco as the nation's second-most expensive rental market, that one resident went viral for jokingly putting an igloo on the market for $2,700 a month."Heat/ hot water not included," Jonathan Berk tweeted.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, rental vacancy rates during the fourth quarter of 2021 fell to 5.6%, the lowest since 1984.