Article snippet: Most everywhere in the United States, rents stayed the same or went up last year. But not as much as in previous years: In 2017, median rents across the country rose an estimated 3.1 percent, continuing the steady trend of slowing increases that has been going on since 2012, according to a study by Trulia. Rents went down in only 11 of the 100 largest metropolitan markets, according to data provided by Trulia. The biggest drops were in Fairfield County, Conn., (-6.3 percent); Baton Rouge, La., (-6.0 percent); Newark (-4.3 percent); and Honolulu (-4.0). The rest of those 11 metro areas had decreases of 2 percent or less. So where did rents rise the most? To determine the 10 metropolitan areas that saw the largest increases — and to rank the other 90 areas as well — Trulia used a proprietary statistical model that calculated estimated rents for unlisted properties using home characteristics, location and comparable properties with known rents. Estimated and actual rents were combined to come up with median rents. Link to the full article to read more