: Here’s where the cost of rent is increasing the most. Hint: it’s NOT New York or San Francisco

Notably, August marked the first time since April 2020 that every major metropolitan area included in the report displayed an increase in rents.

“Consumers continue to relocate as they return to in-person work and school,” Molly Boesel, principal economist at CoreLogic, said in the report. “The ongoing preference toward more living space — and slim for-sale inventory — is forcing would-be buyers back into renting, putting significant strain on the single-family rental market.”

Boston was the last major metropolitan area to see rents turn positive following 14 months of declines. The shift was a reflection of the start of the school year, when college students and faculty returned to the city en masse as in-person classes resumed with the current semester at most educational institutions.

But Boston’s 1.5% rent growth was a far cry from being the highest in the country. That honor, instead, went to Miami, where rents have increased by more than 21% over the past year. It was the first time in nearly three years that Phoenix, Ariz. did not display the largest rent growth in the country.

Miami’s surging rents are the result of the rebound in tourism as air travel has improved and cruises have resumed following the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines nationwide.

Phoenix did have the second-highest rate of rent appreciation nationwide at 19.2%, followed by Las Vegas at 15.4.% Rounding out the top five were two Texas metro areas: Austin and Dallas.

The rise in rents has buoyed real-estate investment trusts that focus on single-family rentals, such as Invitation Homes
INVH,
+0.48%
and American Homes 4 Rent
AMH,
+0.45%.
Invitation and American Homes 4 Rent have seen their shares increase by more than 30% year-to-date, compared to the roughly 20% rise in the S&P 500
SPX,
+0.52%
over that same period.