Apartment rents continued to rise throughout most of Southwest Florida over the year, but rates in several cities declined.
The annual increases ranged from 0.1% in Punta Gorda to 5.3% in Englewood, according to March data from online rental marketplace Apartment List.
Median rents for two-bedroom apartments fell by 1.5% in Bradenton and 2% in Longboat Key from last year, the report said.
Four Southwest Florida communities posted higher rental rate increases than the Florida average of 2.2% and the U.S. average of 2.4%.
Rental price hikes nationwide have slowed in the past six months, the report said. At this time last year, year-over-year growth was 2.8%, and in 2015 it was 3.7%. Rates did spike 1% between January and February.
"We expect to continue seeing some seasonal price growth over the next few months, but despite last month's spike, it still seems that growth will continue to lag rates from recent years," Apartment List said. "With significant numbers of new units coming onto the market in many parts of the country, there are indications that renters will continue to experience at least a small amount of relief from the surging prices that they were faced with throughout the past few years."
A number of new apartment complexes are under construction in the region, including more than 1,500 new units planned or under construction in and around downtown Sarasota.
In Sarasota, a one-bedroom apartment rented for a median $1,280, while a two-bedroom unit was $2,250.
A one-bedroom apartment in Bradenton cost a median $1,050, while a two-bedroom went for $1,500.
And in Venice, one-bedroom units rented for $1,110 and two-bedrooms cost $2,500.
Those were the only local communities for which Apartment List had data for one-bedroom rentals. Numbers for two-bedroom apartments were available for all.
Rents decreased in 19 of the nation's 100 largest cities over the year. But 17 of those cities saw annual price growth topping 5%.
