The most competitive markets this year share characteristics such as relative affordability and “supply that trails demand,” according to Zillow. Taking the top spot in the ranking is Buffalo, New York, followed by Indianapolis and Providence, Rhode Island.

A new study by a tenant advocacy group shows a major increase in rent prices across the Los Angeles area during Southern California’s recent wildfires despite laws preventing price gouging

Rent prices across the Los Angeles region have skyrocketed just as thousands of people are scrambling to find lodging after the wildfires. The Washington Post, for example, analyzed listings via RentCast and found that rent has increased 20% overall in Los Angeles County since the fires began.

Because California is in a state of emergency, laws targeting price-gouging, including a ban on landlords raising rents by more than 10 percent of pre-emergency levels, should be in effect. But that hasn't deterred some landlords from apparently raising their rents by far more than that,

Zillow is introducing climate-risk estimates for home listings, which could impact home buyers' decisions and lead to increased construction of more resilient homes.

Tenant advocacy groups, landlord associations and elected officials are condemning rent gouging after tens of thousands of people were displaced in deadly fires this month.

A small army of activists has mobilized to try to hold landlords accountable for price gouging on their rental listings after the Los Angeles wildfires.

How the study came about: The Rent Brigade is a new independent collective made up of tenant advocates, web programmers, housing researchers and ordinary Angelenos who say they naturally gravitated toward working together after posts about alleged rent gouging flooded social media in the days after the fires.

Some landlords are hiking prices beyond the 10% the law allows. Some listings have increased thousands of dollars a month.

Unfortunately, your obligation to pay your mortgage lender doesn’t necessarily hinge on whether your home is still standing.

What made the wildfires devastating was their path through the Palisades, where home values hover around $3.4 million and aging structures were tightly packed in a recognized high-risk fire zone.

The L.A. City Council sent a package of tenant protections back to committee, including a proposal for a one-year freeze on rent increases.