Landlords are taking advantage of these trends as an opportunity to raise rents, which have been fairly stable for quite some time. This also reflects the inflation that is hitting our country as a result of all the government money sloshing around. There is a pretty good chance that rents will go up 10 - 20% in many markets in the country in the next year.
This may very well cause renters to rent smaller dwellings, whether homes or apartments than they otherwise might to contain cost. Real estate is actually pretty predictable in terms of how prices drive behaviors. Rental rates going up was pretty predictable given the demand for housing. First time home buyers have been priced out of many markets. They can't compete with buyers bidding up prices often paying more than list price. So, these otherwise buyers are forced to rent until the housing market cools down, which could be several years because demand is still outpacing supply.