Margaret R. Seaton 
Arlington’s median apartment rent in April rose 16.8% from a year earlier, the third-highest growth rate among the nation’s 100 major urban areas, new data shows.
The median monthly apartment rent in the county last month was $1,999 for a one-bedroom unit and $2,420 for a two-bedroom unit, according to data reported by Apartment List.
This is an increase of 0.7% compared to the previous month. Compared to the period immediately preceding the arrival of the pandemic in March 2020, Arlington’s rents are up 1.4%, representing first a sharp drop and then a quick comeback.
Among parts of the Washington area, the median 2-bedroom rental rate in Arlington of $2,190 was the highest. Other rental medians included $2,310 in Rockville, $2,290 in Bethesda, $2,150 in Germantown and Centerville, $1,900 in Silver Spring and $1,820 in the District of Columbia.
Arlington’s April data compares to a median rental cost increase of 0.8% for the month nationally, bringing the national year-over-year rebound to 16.3%.
“Rent growth continues to pick up after a brief winter slowdown,” Apartment List analysts noted.
But while the market is heating up with temperatures, it has not returned to incandescent territory. For the first four months of the year, the increase was a modest 2.5% nationally.
(For the full national report, see the website at https://www.apartmentlist.com/research/national-rent-data.)
Median rents rose over the past month in 93 of the nation’s 100 largest urban areas, down from 74 of 100 the previous month, as Sun Belt markets continue to see one of the fastest growth rates in the nation.
Since the start of the pandemic, the highest rental growth rates have been recorded in Tampa (41%), Miami (38%) and Phoenix (also 38%). Over the past 12 months, the Florida trio of Miami, Orlando and Tampa have seen the highest growth rates.
Of the 100 urban areas in the Monthly Apartment List Review, only San Francisco (down 3%) and San Jose (down 1%) remain below their pre-Central apartment cost levels. pandemic. They should rebound fully in the coming months.
In April, the national apartment vacancy index fell slightly, falling to 4.6% in its first decline since last August, when it had stood at 3.8%.
