The beginning of the rental season saw rent prices increase by 3.2% over the year — the lowest annual growth in more than 6 months, according to RENTCafe.com’s March Rent Report.

The March national average rent is $1,430/month, $44 more compared to last year. As for the average rent in New Jersey’s largest cities, it is generally lower than the national average rent.

Here are the most notable changes in New Jersey’s rental market:

·         The fastest growing rents in March were in Trenton, where rental apartment prices increased by 5.6% over the year, but have stagnated since the end of February, clocking in at $1,118.

·         Hamilton apartments saw the second highest annual increase, jumping by 5.4% ($71 more expensive than the same month last year).

·         Of the large cities analyzed, Jersey City apartments are the state’s most expensive for renters, with an average rent of $2,909, followed by apartments in Union, where the average monthly rent reached $1,800. Newark average rents clocked in at $1,171.

·         At the other end of the spectrum, Edison rents went down by 1.1%, meaning they are $17 cheaper than one-year prior.

·         With an average rent of $1,118, Trenton boasts the lowest rent of all the large cities included in our analysis.

·         Compared to 5 years ago, Newark rents have increased by 11.8% and Jersey City apartments are now 10.9% more expensive.

·          Maple Shade witnessed a 6.8% year-over-year rent growth (the biggest jump of all the small cities in the state), closely followed by Orange City, where apartments are 6% more expensive to rent than a year ago.

·         By far, the most expensive apartments in the state are in Hoboken,  where the average rent reached $3,463. The runner up is Edgewater with an average rent of $3,160.

You can check out our New Jersey March rent report with interactive visuals here: https://www.rentcafe.com/blog/rental-market/new-jersey-rent-report-march-2019/.

To compare it with other cities in the U.S., you can also check our National March Rent Report.