Much has been made of the influx of foreigners buying real-estate in America’s largest and most expensive cities (here). While this has kept high end real-estate prices in the most expensive US cities elevated compared to national averages, the same can no longer be said for rents in these same cities. As the following chart from Apartment List suggests, the rental market in all five of America’s most expensive cities has lagged the national average rent increase and in three (San Jose, San Francisco, and Miami) rents actually fell overall in 2016. While this is certainly a relief for renters, when rent doesn’t keep pace with real-estate, it may be indicative of a weakening in the underlying fundamentals in these cities.  Food for thought.

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