Rent (Out of) Control

The not-so-shocking bad news: Los Angeles has been named one of the 10 worst places to rent in the U.S.
The good news? We're Number 8 (and Orange County is No. 10)! Considering how high our rental market has gotten, I'm shocked we're not in the top 5 -- or even the top 3.

According to the study, as conducted by the San Francisco-based real estate research firm Global Real Analytics (which publishes the National Real Estate Index), New York remains the most expensive city to rent in the U.S,, at $26.04 per square foot.

The rest of the top ten, in order: Boston ($24.33); Honolulu ($23.27); San Francisco ($22.48); Newark, New Jersey ($22.35); Stamford, Conn. ($21.76); Nassau-Suffolk, N.Y. ($21.05); Los Angeles ($20.34); San Jose, Calif. ($20.23) and Orange County, Calif. ($19.54).

The national average hovers around $14.53 per square foot.

Notes the study's authors:

According to the latest data from local real estate brokerage Citi Habitats, the median rent in Manhattan for a studio apartment is nearly $1,700 per month. Looking for a little more space? Then crank your budget up to about $3,000 per month for an average two-bedroom pad.

What makes these markets so pricey? The reasons vary. Metro areas, such as San Francisco, New York and Boston, not only remain desirable to live in, but they are also known in the industry as "barrier-to-entry" cities, Obrinsky says.

"In other words, even though there's demand for a lot more housing units, it's tough to get them built," he explains.

Demand, of course, also plays a role in pricing. "There are more companies relocating new employees into the area, and that has had an effect on the rental market," says Edward Bate, a real estate agent with American Marketing Systems, in San Francisco.