Average rents rose 14 percent last year and as much as 40 percent in major cities like Austin, Miami, and New York. “The pandemic was kind of a pause on the economy and now that things are reopening, inflation is picking up, rents are going up and people are realizing they don’t have as much disposable income as they might have thought they had,” said Daryl Fairweather, chief economist at Redfin. This year, high rent prices are expected to drive inflation. Even if inflation declines for other components of the consumer price index, rising rents could keep inflation elevated all year, noted Frank Nothaft, chief economist at CoreLogic.