Apartment rental rates in the Philadelphia metro area are way up as demand for apartments continues to rise, writes Michaelle Bond for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Rents reached two-year highs in July in the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington metropolitan area. Rates are up 3.5 percent compared with the same time last year.

Specifically, Philadelphia rents rose six percent over the same period. The median rent in the Philadelphia metro area ranges from $1,600 to $1,700.

And while the rate of monthly growth in rent prices has slowed this summer, it is expected that rents are still going to be climbing at a faster-than-normal pace for the next several months.

Vacancy rates are also down, having peaked in June 2020 at 6.6 percent in the Metro area and 9 percent in Philadelphia. In August, the rates were at 3.3 and 4.2 percent, respectively.

“With the economy continuing to reopen, employees receiving more long-term guidance on remote work, and as students find their way back to college campuses, the rental market is picking back up,” said Nicole Bachaud, economic data analyst at Zillow.

Nationally, a renter must work 53 hours a week to afford a two-bedroom market-rate apartment, according to the advocacy nonprofit National Low Income Housing Coalition.

Read more about the Philadelphia metro area rental rates in The Philadelphia Inquirer.

This video looks at the rising rental and real estate sales nationwide.