Baltimore Rental Market Trend Report - June 7th, 2021

The Baltimore Rental Market Trend Report analyzes four key data points: active listing growth, renter lead growth, average renter leads per property, and the average rent price for two-bedroom listings.

• Active Listings – Our first data set is the month-over-month change in the total number of active rental listings advertised on the TurboTenant platform. Factors such as seasonality will impact this number, with the rental season peaking January through August. Due to the pandemic, eviction moratoriums, and stay-at-home orders, more month over month fluctuations were reported in nearly every market we analyze. Traditionally, this data point helps us gauge the rental supply in each market and provides a more in-depth seasonality analysis. Through the lens of 2020, inconsistencies in baselines were noted. As we compare 2021 to 2020 we will work to glean insights into if and when the rental market is beginning to normalize and mirror moving and inventory trends of years past.
• Renter Leads –  Our second data set is the month-over-month change in the total number of renter inquiries to a TurboTenant property listing. This data point is the demand side of our supply data point above.
• Average Number of Renter Leads Per Property –  Our third data point brings together the first two to give us a better understanding of the competitive landscape in each location. We compare the total number on a month-over-month basis.
• Average Rent Price – Our fourth data point is the average rent price for a two-bedroom listing. Our analysis begins in January of 2020 and will continue throughout 2021. We want to understand how factors such as outmigration, changes in remote work and school, and eviction moratoriums impact rent prices in any given market.

Baltimore Rental Market Trend Analysis

Active Listings

In the first quarter of 2020, active listings for Baltimore followed normal seasonal trends. With January reporting a large jump, February declined by 12%, and March posted an increase in active listings of 14%. In 2021, listings have lagged after a strong increase of 26% in January. April 2021 saw a decrease in active listings of 20% and stayed the same in May.

Renter Leads and Average Leads Per Property

Demand on the renter side has experienced similar volatility throughout 2020. We saw the most demand in January of 2020, with 86 leads per property on average. The rest of the year fluctuated with a large jump in November of 120%. However, in 2021 the percentage of leads slowly decreased and hit a low of 15 for April 2021. May saw a solid increase of 69% and average of 26 leads per property – we predict the numbers will continue to rise as pandemic restrictions begin to loosen.

Average Rent  

For the first two months of 2021, the average rent was down year-over-year with $100+ differences from 2020 – however, we started to see an increase in March. The average rent for May was up by over $100 compared to last year, however, June is down by a staggering amount. Looking back at 2020, rent prices decreased and increased in Baltimore, with the biggest dips in August and November. Interestingly enough, listings and demand declined in December, but the average rent increased to $1,245.

We will continue to update this data every month. If you have data requirements that are outside the scope of this article, please email [email protected]. We have ongoing data collection and are happy to supply another data set if it is available. Check out all of our COVID-19 landlord resources here.

If you are in the process of filling your properties, TurboTenant can help streamline your rental process with easy and free online rental applications as well as thorough tenant screening so you can find the best renter for your property.