WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Could the cost of renting a home in South Florida actually be coming down?
There are some rumblings that sky-high rents may finally be coming down. It's a trend that is turning up on social media.
Sasha Kraver of Douglas Elliman real estate said Friday there has been a shift in the rental market within the last week with some rents a few hundred dollars less.
There were also postings on Reddit that indicated apartment hunters were seeing rents lower in the last two weeks for one-bedroom apartments.
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One person told WPTV Friday that he is seeing some very modest lowering of rents in downtown West Palm Beach.
Another apartment hunter said one-bedroom apartments were now $200 to $300 less than they were two weeks ago.
Data from the website, Rent.com also shows a downturn in July with one-bedroom apartments in West Palm Beach trending from $2,840 in June to $2,552 and two-bedroom apartments going from $3,715 to $3,612.
A real estate professional said the lower prices may be because too many apartments are sitting empty.
Renters are getting hopeful.
"I think it's going to be a really great positive news for the area, living downtown. Deciding to live downtown has been a dream of mine moving across the country and being here very recently," renter Palmer Mattice said. "I think where people are hesitant to stay down here — especially not for apartments but for condos and townhomes — is the idea and fear that prices are going to keep going up and up."
Mattice said he's paying well over $3,000 for a two-bedroom apartment and his lease is up in January.
Real estate experts, however, aren't sure if the downturn yet is a trend that will continue into the fall and winter.