What does Kansas City, Mo., have in common with fast-growing San Francisco, a city that's made headlines for its lack of affordable housing?
Rent is up here, too – about 8.5 percent over last year, according to a Zillow report that ranks Kansas City No. 4 on a list of cities that saw rental rates spike between 2013 and 2014.
Forbes points out that smaller cities, not just major metropolises, are becoming unaffordable as the housing market continues its slow recovery.
But Jeff Pinkerton, an economist with the Mid-America Regional Council, says what's happening here may be a little different than San Francisco, San Jose and Denver, the three cities that saw larger rental rate increases than Kansas City, Mo.
"We're a growing metro, but we're not growing at the rate of some of these others that are seeing some of these high rate increases," says Pinkerton, who wrote about the issue for MARC's economy blog.
Pinkerton says it's more likely a drop in the number of multi-family housing permits issued that's driving the increase in rental rates. Very few apartments were built during the recession. They're building again now, but supply hasn't caught up with demand.
"Until they get completed, we're going to see an increase in rents because there's more people looking at space than there's rental space available," Pinkerton predicts.
According to Zillow, the median rent price in metro Kansas City is $850.
