A recent article in the Washington Post this week suggests that the rental market in the U.S. is beginning to cool down following a historic run-up of prices that marked the fastest increase in rents in nearly a century. And a review of the data cited by CoStar Group suggests a similar trend for Mid-Shore counties, but when looking at the average rent in all five counties, it is stunning to see how disproportionately expensive Talbot County has become since 2019.
With an average rent of almost $1,400 per month, Talbot County leads the Mid-Shore with a whopping 45% increase since the benchmark year of 2019. Coming in 2nd place was Queen Anne’s County at 21%, Dorchester at 6%, Kent County with 4.6% and Caroline at 4.2%.
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Robert Haase says
I have to wonder if the study included Short Term Rentals in the study. Talbot has certainly had an increase in these in this time frame.
Steve Shimko says
I don’t know for a fact, but I would be surprised if the Wash Post article/study considered STRs. While STRs may influence rental prices by removing potential long term rentals from the market, I don’t think vacation rental rates themselves are considered in so far as housing costs go.
Reed Fawell 3 says
Now we can clearly see why the Poplar Hill project, if built as planned, will be a train wreck for the town and county. Poplar Hill likely will result in high numbers of rented apartments, townhouses, and small lot subdivision houses, densely packed across its main drag road from strip commercial and playing fields, served by 1300 parking spaces, all dependent on that road for offsite exit directly onto the Easton By-pass or just off it on the scenic Old Oxford Road that is also highly dependent on the By pass for access.
Most likely, given this strong, growing, and under-served rental market in Talbot County, significant numbers of Poplar Hill occupants will be young short term renters – Airbnb holiday and remote worker types, likely with kids. Very active, they will be highly dependent on their cars, given the isolated and auto dependent location of Poplar Hill that ironically sits atop or very near the two most important and constrained intersections on the only regional road serving the west side of the town of Easton.
Intersection failures here will impact all the lands and roads west of the Easton By-pass. Overtime severe traffic congestion up and down Oxford and St. Michael’s Road, and By pass, will surely result.
I cannot imagine a more terrible and destructive location for the Poplar Hill project.
But it is also a double tragedy.
This critically needed rental market could be wonderfully served in locations east of the by-pass in Easton, and also within towns and villages east of Rt 50. Instead, if built, the Poplar Hill location will screw up for generations this key emerging market in Talbot County Four Ways to Sunday.