Rent is going up on the MS Coast. Here’s how it’s impacting some residents.

Jenni Camhi
·6 min read

Heavy rental housing demand in South Mississippi has caused prices to jump, creating new problems for those short on income.

According to a study on the website rent.com, the Gulfport-Biloxi metro area generated more interest from new renters last quarter than any other area of the country. That demand has pumped prices. According to data compiled by the group Construction Coverage, the fair market value of rent in the Gulfport-Biloxi metro area has increased 16.7% since 2019.

Last year the Sun Herald reported that it was near impossible to rent an apartment in South Mississippi as apartment occupancy soared to 97.2% and many renters were put on waitlists in Ocean Springs, Gulfport, Biloxi, and other places.

With such low vacancy in the Coast rental market, new developments with hefty price tags stand as some of the only available inventory.

The Sun Herald asked readers to tell us how they’re dealing with the surge in rental prices. Here are three of their stories.

Sacrificing personal comforts

Angela Stockton is a retired legal secretary from Kentucky who has lived on the Coast on and off for the last five decades. In 2013, Stockton and her husband, now deceased, moved into a two bedroom, two bath space at Creekwood North Apartments in Gulfport.

She’s always liked the space, but now the price to stay is going up.

“With one exception when there was no increase in the rent from one year to the next, it has gone up either $35 to $50 per month every time I have renewed the lease – until this year (in November), when it went up by $154. Currently I’m paying $1,009 per month,” Stockton said.

She expects the rent will continue to increase. As a retired woman, she is living on a fixed income set by Social Security and a pension. Rising rent prices means more money going toward housing, and less money available to cover all other expenses.

“I have had to take money out of my IRA approximately every two or three months. I’ve given up all hope that I can travel, and I’m more nervous when I drive because if anything happens to my car, I won’t be able to replace it.”

She hopes to move in with her daughter and son in-law in a few years, who may leave the Coast.

Driven from home

Barbara Wallace had lived in Biloxi for 21 years before her apartment’s $300 rent increase drove her to move in with a friend in Virginia in October.

Before the increase, the monthly rent on her 2 bedroom, 2 bath apartment was $792. Now it’s $1,092.

She found out through a notice on her door. It said that in October, six weeks from the posting date, the rent was going up. If she wanted to stay, she would have to sign on for a year-long lease at the increased monthly price.

“I’m retired, living on Social Security ... what seemed like a lot of money at one time, or enough, it isn’t anymore,” Wallace said.

Wallace explored her options; she asked her apartment complex to notify her if a one bedroom became available (it didn’t), she tried looking for a new place, she even tried to rent out one of her rooms. With no options panning out and the clock ticking down before the price increase, she was forced to leave the Coast entirely.

“I moved to Virginia for now. There was no room to rent, I would have been broke in a week or two. My friend generously said ‘come up here!’ So I did. I had been in my apartment for 20 years.”

While she misses the familiarity of the Coast, Wallace has no plans to return.

On a fixed income

Sheila Edwards has lived in her three bedroom patio home in Diamondhead for four years with no rent increase, until now. The company that manages the building she’s in has notified her that starting Jan. 1, her rent is going up to $1,150 a month. It’s a $200 increase from what the month-to-month renter is paying now.

“It’s a lot to go up, especially for someone like myself, who’s on a fixed income (and retired),” Edwards said. “I am no longer working. However, that might have to change based on the fact that my rent has gone up significantly.”

Edwards told the Sun Herald that she was not given the time she needed to find a new place, pack up and move.

“I would have had to have given notice by today (Dec. 1) if I was going to move, and I was only given about 20 days notice of the rent increase,” Edwards said. “20 days ago they let me know my rent was going to go up, and at that point they told me that I would need to give a 30-day notice if I was going to not remain a renter. There’s no way with that timing that I would be able to find a place … you can’t just move in 30 days unless it was a planned move.”

Staying means that Edwards is going to have to sign a lease that locks her in for a year at a higher rent price, potentially forcing her to go back to work to cover the difference. While she says it doesn’t mean she’s not going to consider moving in the future, for now the short notice and the high cost of moving means she has no choice. She has to stay.

Average rent increases

Curious about what cities on the Coast have seen an increase in rent this year? Here are the stats from rent.com, who source their data from Redfin. These stats list what the average rent price is for a one bedroom, two bedroom, and three bedroom in all listed cities, as well as the percentage the price has increased or decreased in the past year. All data is updated as of Dec. 4, 2022.

Average rent in Bay St. Louis

  • One bedroom: $960 (+12% annual increase)

  • Two bedroom: $1,075 (+12% annual increase)

  • Three bedroom: $774 (+13% annual increase)

Average rent in Biloxi

  • One bedroom: $887 (+20% annual increase)

  • Two bedroom: $1,149 (+38% annual increase)

  • Three bedroom: $980 (-17% annual decrease)

Average rent in Gautier

  • One bedroom: $725 (+7% annual increase)

  • Two bedroom: $830 (+10% annual increase)

  • Three bedroom: $1,130 (0% annual change)

Average rent in Gulfport

  • One bedroom: $812 (+27% annual increase)

  • Two bedroom: $954 (+23% annual increase)

  • Three bedroom: $807 (+5% annual increase)

Average rent in Long Beach

  • One bedroom: $817 (-5% annual decrease)

  • Two bedroom: $969 (0% annual change)

  • Three bedroom: $1,129 (-4% annual decrease)

Average rent in Ocean Spring

  • One bedroom: $935 (+39% annual increase)

  • Two bedroom: $1,150 (+55% annual increase)

  • Three bedroom: $1,375 (+62% annual increase)

Average rent in Pascagoula

  • One bedroom: $700 (+33% annual increase)

  • Two bedroom: $900 (+48% annual increase)

  • Three bedroom: $1,100 (+58% annual increase)

Average rent in Pass Christian

  • One bedroom: not listed

  • Two bedroom: $875 (+14% annual increase)

  • Three bedroom: $850 (0% annual change)