The city of Syracuse was named one of the worst cities in the United States to rent in due to its low income and increasing renting costs, according to a report from the National Association of Realtors.

Syracuse has experienced a 12 percent increase in rent since 2009, which is the second largest percentage of the eight cities listed in the article. In addition, Syracuse has only seen a 7 percent increase in income since 2009, according to the report, which was released Monday.

Don Dutkowsky, an economics professor in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, said that it’s hard to argue with the data in the article, but it’s no secret the city of Syracuse has been experiencing economic difficulties since the recession.

Dutkowsky said that he found the high rental prices surprising, but he believes there are two main reasons why renting prices are so bad in Syracuse.

“First, there’s been a phenomenon of people moving downtown since the latter part of the last decade. These people are buying well-to-do, if not luxury apartments in the downtown area almost faster than they can be built,” Dutkowsky said. “So this is pushing rental rates up because so many people are moving downtown and out of the suburbs.”

The second reason behind higher rental prices, Dutkowsky said, is because of the increased influx of Syracuse University students.

“Syracuse University students are only going to stay on campus for a short amount of time then they will most likely rent,” Dutkowsky said. “Graduate students will also tend to rent apartments or houses instead of staying in dorms on campus.”

Dutkowsky said the data found in the article is not going to stop people from renting in the city of Syracuse, saying he believes that people can still find affordable housing to rent in the area.

Yildiray Yildirim, a professor of finance and the Michael Falcone chair in real estate in the Martin J. Whitman School of Management, said in an email that the national rent index has increased about 14 percent between November 2010 and January 2015, according to the Zillow Rent Index, an online real estate database. While rent has increased in Syracuse over the last five years, Yildirim said it tends to move up and down.

“Syracuse’s rent index fluctuates within a range, while the national rent index is always in an upwards trend,” Yildirim said. “This may tell us, rents are stable in the Syracuse market for now while the rents nationally are increasing.”

Published on March 18, 2015 at 12:01 am

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