by Wolf Richter
Wolf Street
Massive Pandemic Shifts that triggered plunging rents in the most expensive cities and surging rents in cheaper cities still on display.
Has the turmoil in the rental market, triggered by work from anywhere and an exodus from the most expensive cities, settled down? Have rents in those cities hit the bottom of the canyon yet? That’s what everyone wants to know. Rents are not going to zero. At some point they stop dropping, as a majestic churn takes place, with people switching apartments to upgrade for the same rent or maintain the same level of quality for less. This churn is taking place in big cities with sharply dropping rents. High lease activity doesn’t mean people are suddenly coming back. It means tenants are switching apartments for better deals.