Rising rental prices

We are headed into the spring, so that means much warmer weather and for many it is the time of year where you look for new homes and apartments. However, in Duluth the lack of housing, specifically affordable housing is becoming a bit of a crisis.

We sat down with WDIO’s real estate expert Kevin Kalligher, to find out how to best move in this rental and buying market.

“I was just talking with someone today where they were saying their rent went from $1,300 dollars a month to $2,000 a month,” said Kalligher.

So many are asking, why? What is the reason for rental prices increasing?

“I think there’s multiple factors for it, but the big elephant in the room is supply and demand. And we’ve been seeing it on both the purchase side of things and the rental side where, you know, historically, over time, rents go up, values go up, these types of things. But really, I started to notice it a lot after 2020. Post-COVID, and I don’t know where that came from,” continued Kalligher.

More people are moving to Duluth from other parts of the country and are now becoming locals. That is leaves many of us wondering if folks are getting priced out of the market?

“I think that’s definitely played a factor. With remote work and people willing to pay higher rent that were from another market. You know, if you’re coming from San Francisco or New York where your average rent is three or 4,000 a month, you come here and it’s like, yeah, I’ll pay 1700 pretty easily,” said Kalligher.

So what is the best advice in an uncertain market for renters?

“I would do some research. I’d look into different neighborhoods that I wanted to be in. Look at homes where they are in proximity to where I was working and then identify properties that were of similar rent, do some rent comparisons. I mean, anyone can do that. You can go on Zillow.com, or apartment.com and see what market rents are and get really familiar with that location,” finishes Kalligher.

Happy home hunting!