Apartment rental rates soar in the lake area

Lake Charles, LA (KPLC) – Many Lake Area apartments are re-renting at limited or full capacities, but rent prices are sky-high, making payment difficult for some.

“I don’t know if I’m going to renew just because of the prices – yeah, seriously,” said tenant Chloe Regan.

“I had to sign a new lease,” said tenant Nelda Cooper. “It’s a lot more. That’s probably $ 200 more than a year ago.

In fact, Apartmentlist.com’s national “Rent Report” for July found that rental prices were almost 22% higher than they were a year ago. And they’re more than 25% higher than they were at the start of the pandemic – leaving many Lake District tenants hoping for relief.

“I have two other roommates. It’s a three bedroom and the prices were around $ 1,500, ”said Regan. “So we were each paying around $ 500, and now it’s gone up – we’re each paying around $ 100 more. And I find that ridiculous because we just went through a hurricane. We’ve been through this and they come and fix everything and it’s just boring.

“I get it in construction because I used to work that. Like, I understand, but we can’t afford it, ”Cooper said.

While Lake Charles’s rent rates have risen sharply, reports from Apartmentlist.com show that many other cities like San Francisco, Seattle and New York have seen declines. Residents of southwest Louisiana say that due to Hurricane Laura, finding a place to live is not ripe for picking.

“There aren’t many either. It’s either damaged or too expensive for what it is, ”Regan said.

Another alternative to renting is buying, which many say they use as well. Earlier this year, lake area realtors said housing interest rates were at their lowest in that region.

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