Philadelphia rent is up since summer 2017

If you've been paying attention to rental rates in this city lately, you already know that Philadelphia rents have been climbing even as the national trend shows declining growth. A new study examining three years of annual rental rates at Apartment List ranks Philadelphia as 11th for year-over-year rent growth among the top 25 cities in the United States.

Compared with this time last year, rental rates have grown 1.2 percent. Last year, the city was 17th on the same list with 1.7 percent growth. In 2016, the city was also 11th, but with 3.5 percent growth. In 2015, the city experienced 2.1 percent growth, making it No. 19 in the rankings. Nationally, rent growth is at 1.5 percent – less than half the rate of growth (3.6 percent) in 2015. The good news for renters is that the rate has lagged behind wages nationally (up 2.7 percent) as well as inflation (2.5 percent).

In comparison with other cities nationally, Philadelphia's growth looks fairly stable. Cities like Seattle have ping-ponged up and down the list (the city was first last year with 5.2 percent growth but experienced 0.9 percent rent declines this year). Tampa – top this year with 4.6 percent growth –  has topped the list twice since 2015.