The latest Apartment Market Report shows that renters from the nation’s hottest markets have real reasons for joy, though others are not that lucky. Last month, average rents dropped in six out of the top 10 most expensive markets in the nation, but continued their dizzying climb in cities all over the West Coast.

Highlights of the report:

Priced-out Seattle renters have long been moving south to escape soaring rents in the tech hub, but considering Tacoma’s growth pace, cheaper rents might soon be a thing of the past: in May, the City of Destiny was 7th on our list of cities with fastest growing rents due to a 7.9% Y-o-Y increase.

The only other city in Washington to make this infamous list is Spokane, with a stark 7.5% Y-o-Y increase.

These two cities remain, however, the most affordable markets in the state. At the other end of the spectrum, Bellevue and Seattle lead the way with average rents that hover around $2,000.

Anomalies like San Francisco and Sunnyvale aside, California cities continued to dominate the list of fastest-growing rents. The West Coast state accounted for eight of the top 15 cities, with Stockton taking the No. 1. Spot for yet another month. With a 10.6% increase over the year, the city now boasts average rents of $1,030 per month.

Cali’s Sacramento, Lancaster, Santa Rosa, Modesto, Victorville, Fairfield, and El Cajon all made the fastest-growing list, while other Western cities filled in the gaps. Colorado Springs came in at No. 2 with a 10.2% jump over the year. Reno, Nevada; Tacoma and Spokane, Washington; and Salem, Oregon, also made the list. The only non-Western cities to make an appearance were North Charleston, South Carolina, and Buffalo, New York, which saw 7.2% and 9.4% annual increases, respectively.

Check out the full report for more details on 250 of the most populous U.S. cities: https://www.rentcafe.com/blog/rental-market/apartment-rent-report/rentcafe-apartment-market-report-may-2017/.

– RENTCafe