Yeah, my in-laws rent went up nearly 40% and the property management claimed it was due to upgrades (the upgrade was a new coat of paint on the building). That took them out of the range of being able to afford their apartment and other necessities with social security and a meager retirement. They had to move to a new place in a bad area and my MIL had to start working again.

Yeah. Friend of mine has had her rent go up 25% over the last two years in DC.

Economic growth raises property values, speculators pile on hoping to make money for nothing, property values rocket upward taking rents with them, rents exceed their productive value, businesses close and people leave because the rent is too damn high, and recession ensues. Expect property owners to hang on as long as they can.

Henry George laid this out 144 years ago in Progress and Poverty. Once you've seen it, you can't un-see it.