An urban exodus by Americans looking for more spacious and affordable homes during the Covid-19 pandemic has caused rents to plummet in some of the biggest cities in the US, according to a new property report.
Rents for one-bedroom apartments in San Francisco are dropping at the fastest rate in the country after prices fell 45 per cent in March compared with the same period a year ago, Apartment Guide's April 2021 Rent Report found.
The exodus has been led by tech employees in San Francisco, which is home to Silicon Valley tech giants such as Apple, Alphabet and Facebook, whose employees are working remotely either indefinitely or permanently. It's also one of the most expensive cities in the US to live.
Other cities that experienced the fastest falls in one-bedroom rents year-on-year include Chesapeake in Virginia (29.4 per cent), New York City (27.3 per cent), Long Beach, California (27 per cent), and Colorado Springs, Denver (24.6 per cent), the report, which analysed one- and two-bedroom apartment rents in the 100 most populated cities in the US, found.
Despite recording significant annual rent declines, five cities – San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles (rent dip of 16 per cent), Jersey City (15.5 per cent) and San Jose (16.2 per cent) – were among the 10 most expensive rental markets for two-bedroom apartments, it added.
Austin, Texas, which serves as a major base for companies like Dell, Whole Foods, SolarWinds and Oracle, had the most new arrivals between April 2020 and October 2020, while Hartford, Connecticut, New York City and San Francisco's Bay Area lost the most residents, according to LinkedIn's December Workforce Report, which tracks migration trends across the US,
Meanwhile, incomes fell for about half of all US tenants during the Covid-19 pandemic, an April report by Harvard's Joint Centre for Housing Studies found. The study estimated that income losses were worse for renter households headed by people of colour or younger people, and those with lower incomes.
"The study suggests that this trend continues into 2021, so we will continue to keep an eye out for rental trends we’ve seen so far in the pandemic – most notably, a trend towards household consolidation, which mirrors what was seen in the Great Recession of 2008," the report said.
Studios and one-bedroom apartments are showing some recovery in rental prices, indicating growing demand, the Apartment Guide report said.
Studios and one-bedrooms [rent] are showing some recovery in price, possibly reflecting growing demand
“Two-bedrooms have adjusted down slightly, but are still up more than five per cent year-over-year. Three-bedrooms are up, both since last month and since this time last year.”
The average rent for a studio apartment in the US costs about $1,603 a month, the report said. A one-bedroom apartment is $1,610, a two bedroom $1,881 and a three bedroom $2,036, it added.
Meanwhile, the US cities that experienced the biggest annual increases in one-bedroom rents were Kansas City (33.5 per cent), Missouri (33.5 per cent), Gilbert, Arizona (26 per cent), Las Vegas (25.3 per cent), Riverside, California (24.9 per cent), and Buffalo, New York (23.3 per cent). However, none of these cities made it into the 10 most expensive rental markets for one-bedroom apartments, the report said.
Two-bedroom apartment rents that recorded the biggest declines were in Long Beach, California, at 31 per cent, followed by Seattle (30.6 per cent), Chesapeake (25.2 per cent), St. Petersburg, Florida (24.5 per cent) and San Francisco (24 per cent), according to Apartment Guide.
Despite seeing a considerable decline in rents annually, San Francisco and Oakland, California, ranked among the 10 most expensive markets for one-bedroom apartments by rent prices, the report said.
US cities where two-bedroom apartment rents increased the most year-on-year were Riverside (56 per cent), North Las Vegas (39.9 per cent), Buffalo (38.6 per cent), Detroit (32.5 per cent) and Las Vegas (31.1 per cent), it added.
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
German intelligence warnings
- 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
- 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
- 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250
Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution
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Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
PREMIER LEAGUE STATS
Romelu Lukaku's goalscoring statistics in the Premier League
Season/club/appearances (substitute)/goals
2011/12 Chelsea: 8(7) - 0
2012/13 West Brom (loan): 35(15) - 17
2013/14 Chelsea: 2(2) - 0
2013/14 Everton (loan): 31(2) - 15
2014/15 Everton: 36(4) - 10
2015/16 Everton: 37(1) - 18
2016/17 Everton: 37(1) - 25
What sanctions would be reimposed?
Under ‘snapback’, measures imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in six resolutions would be restored, including:
- An arms embargo
- A ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing
- A ban on launches and other activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, as well as ballistic missile technology transfer and technical assistance
- A targeted global asset freeze and travel ban on Iranian individuals and entities
- Authorisation for countries to inspect Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines cargoes for banned goods
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Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
Banned items
Dubai Police has also issued a list of banned items at the ground on Sunday. These include:
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Political flags or banners
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Bikes, skateboards or scooters
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid
When: April 25, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Allianz Arena, Munich
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 1, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
EPL's youngest
- Ethan Nwaneri (Arsenal)
15 years, 181 days old
- Max Dowman (Arsenal)
15 years, 235 days old
- Jeremy Monga (Leicester)
15 years, 271 days old
- Harvey Elliott (Fulham)
16 years, 30 days old
- Matthew Briggs (Fulham)
16 years, 68 days old
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The specs: Volvo XC40
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