Honolulu apartment rents drop in August

Median apartment rents in Honolulu fell 1.7 percent in August from July and were the ninth highest among major U.S. cities, a survey released Wednesday showed.

The survey by Zumper, a San Francisco-based online service for renters and landlords, said the median rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Honolulu was $1,700 in August, down 1.7 percent from the month before and down 5.9 percent from the year before.

The median rent for a two-bedroom apartment was $2,430, down 3.6 percent from July, but up 1.7 percent from August 2015.

Zumper said the national median prices of one- and two-bedroom apartments fell in August. One-bedroom units were down 0.8 percent to $1,146, while two-bedroom apartments decreased 1 percent to $1,358.

Honolulu climbed a spot this month to become the ninth most expensive rental market in the nation, just ahead of Chicago.

The two most expensive markets are San Francisco at $3,440 for a one bedroom and New York at $3,130. The cheapest among the 100 cities reported was Toledo, Ohio, at $445 for a one bedroom, followed by Wichita, Kan., at $470.

The only city in the top 10 that saw a rent increase in August was Washington D.C., up 2.8 percent to $2,200.