Jacksonville home renters are paying more but getting less space for it, according to two studies by apartment search website HotPads.
HotPads said the median rent in Jacksonville was 4.8% higher in the first quarter this year than the first quarter of 2018, up from rent growth of 3.3% in the fourth quarter.
Another HotPads survey found that Jacksonville residents paying the median rent of $1,405 a month could get an apartment with 1,380 square feet. The same rent would have paid for a 1,615-square-foot unit five years ago.
Jacksonville is following national trends. The median rent nationally pays for a home that is 15% smaller than the same rent would have bought five years ago, the study said.
“Cities across the country have seen incredible rent growth in the past five years while new construction has gotten smaller, leading renters to look for units with less and less space to stay within their budgets,” HotPads economist Joshua Clark said in a news release.
At least Jacksonville renters get more bang for their buck than residents of other big cities.
A study last week by Rentcafe found a Jacksonville household spending 30% of household income could afford an 838-square-foot apartment, based on median monthly income.
By comparison, a household looking to spend 30% of income on rent could only afford a space of less than 300 square feet in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Boston, it said.
Another survey by rental search site Apartment List also found units more affordable in Jacksonville than other cities.
Apartment List determined that Jacksonville residents would have to earn $21 an hour to afford a median-priced one-bedroom apartment. That was less than Jacksonville’s median income, and also less than renters in 54 of the 100 largest U.S. cities need to make to afford that apartment.