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Are You Getting a Good Deal on Rent?

by Flexo on March 23, 2007

in Real Estate and Home

The last time I moved was several years ago, and I moved from an apartment in the next town over to the apartment where I live currently. At the time, the rent wasn’t the least expensive in town, but it was close.

Last night I discovered the Rentometer, which compares your rent to all renters in your town. The data confirmed what I figured was still true. My rent is still on the low side for the area where I live. Here’s a screenshot of my results, sufficiently disguised so my exact location isn’t apparent. I’m not looking for any stalkers.

Rentometer

According to the map that is displayed along with my results, there probably aren’t enough data to make a very good comparison with the rest of my town. The other locations included in the comparison are mostly out of town.

It is an interesting concept, and it would be nice if it catches on a little more to gather more data.

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About the Author

Flexo, the owner and creator of Consumerism Commentary, has been blogging and writing for the internet since 1995 and has been building online communities since 1991. Find out more about him and follow him on Twitter.

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  • In larger cities, such as San Francisco, rentometer is a superb tool for checking on rental rates. I used it about six months ago when I moved into my current building. The other big downside besides lack of comparables is that apartments can differ alot by sq footage and upgrades which can impact rent significantly.

    But as you allude to you never know how this data is collected and in my opinion a website is not nearly as good as getting a feel for the market by looking at a number of apartments nearby.

    -Thor
  • Very interesting. Looks like I'm just below the median for my neighborhood. Of course, my rent's going up slightly in May, when my lease is up.
  • Callie
    I am definitely getting ripped off on rent! I want to buy a house, but getting a mortgage is proving difficult.
  • Nice find. My rent was well below average, which kind of surprised me.
  • tolak
    No surprisingly, my rent is 2/3 of the median 1br for my neighborhood, very close to the bottom (bay area). It's really a Jr. 1 bedroom. IMO, a single person just doesn't need more than this or a studio, but friends of mine have happily paid the median or rented a studio instead.

    It was important to me to live in a civilized and still somewhat trendy neighborhood with an easy commute, get some sunlight, quiet street and an enclosed garage space. I did not look for luxury, just a clean, newish place with everything working. At the same time I did not want to spend on rent while saving for a down payment on a house. I feel that I really nailed a good compromise.

    Paying the median would have meant another year renting and saving for a down payment.

    Look long and hard and think about what's really important to you in a place and the impact on your finances.
  • What an excellent site. Definitely goes in the bookmark folder.

    Looks like we are golden. Our rent is at the very bottom of the scale for our neighborhood. Wow.
  • nice find!!!

    i'm paying very close to the average rent.
  • Flexo,
    Thanks so much for posting a review on our site. Thanks to all for the excellent comments and feedback, we sincerely appreciate them.

    We do have more data in and around urban areas. We are constantly expanding our data points as well which come from active listings to show current market rates. Recently, we added the ability for owners to turn their map point into a detailed listing, so that renters can also compare amenities and features most important to them. You will be seeing those added over time. As always, it is free to search and free to list.

    We have more improvements and new tools scheduled for release this year. We would love to keep you posted!

    Sincerely,

    Allison
    Team iiProperty
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