Renters Delighted with Rents in Albany, Where Rents are 71% Less Than Expected

Staff Report From Albany CEO

Friday, October 9th, 2015

We've all heard the saying that Happiness = Expectations - Reality. With rent prices skyrocketing in many cities across the nation, we wondered - which are the cities where renters are most delighted by rents? To get the answer, we compared the prices that renters were searching for with the actual median prices in their city.

Here are some of the highlights:

  • The median 2 bedroom apartment in Albany, GA costs $400, but renters are searching for $685 apartments - a 71% difference

  • New York, Miami, and San Francisco were the most disappointing large cities, with renters searching for apartments at prices 30-50% lower than actual rents

  • Cleveland, Detroit, and Indianapolis scored particularly well - renters there had budgets more than 50% greater than the actual rent price.

  • Renter expectations most closely matched reality in Pittsburgh - they were only $4 (0.3%) off!