The cost of renting property in Virginia has historically been well above the national average. But recent years have seen a shift.
In the past few years, the cost of renting property has spiked dramatically across the county. But here in Virginia, the cost of renting has been flat according to numbers form Zillow.
Frank Shafroth at George Mason University says this is great news for the possibility that Amazon might open up a second headquarters here.
“It’s not going to move them to downtown New York City because it would cost too much. It’s not going to move them to San Francisco because it would cost too much. So it’s got to find a place that’s attractive for families to think about moving to but is reasonably affordable, and this fits squarely in that category.”
Mel Jones at the Virginia Center for Housing Research at Virginia Tech says part of the reason rents haven’t been going up in Virginia is a steadily increasing stock of rental properties.
“Now that we see millennials waiting longer to buy and Boomers actually moving into the rental market more and more, that demand is part of what’s driving us to add these units.”
But, she adds, there’s a twist because these trends are not playing out evenly across Virginia: Metropolitan areas are seeing a shortage of affordable rental units — places like Northern Virginia, Charlottesville, and Blacksburg. In Hampton Roads, she says, rents are rising faster than incomes.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
