You may remember us reporting last year's average rent decreasing for the first time since the pandemic. Well now the Nevada State Apartment Association is saying rent is starting to go up again.
It's just under a 3% increase from last year with the average effective rent in Reno a little over $1,600 a month across all property types and sizes.
But much like the housing sales we reported last week with Sierra Nevada Realtors, one of the main issues causing this increase is higher demand and lower supply.
Robin Crawford, Executive Director of Nevada State Apartment Association, says, "The biggest solution to affordable housing issue is always going to be supply."
In 2022 to 2023 Crawford says they saw the most units delivered to the marketplace. But since then, construction has slowed down due to high construction costs, labor shortages, and lack of available space.
She tells us over 7,000 units are in the construction pipeline right now but it's unclear when they will actually be built. Crawford says if Senator Jacky Rosen's Washoe County Lands bill passes, then the release of some BLM land can increase supply and lower the average cost of rent.
"If more of those lands became available at that lower price point and maybe with a faster permitting process getting mixed in with that, any type of legislature that may help streamline that development process is going to be extremely helpful in the lane of affordability."
We are experiencing a higher vacancy rate of 11% which typically leads to more concession opportunities. Crawford suggests when looking for rentals find something that offers concessions like one month's free rent.
