Rising rents may spur first-time home buyers

Annual rent increases across the U.S. last month outpaced the rise in home prices for the first time in at least five years, a milestone that should spur the sluggish home-buying market.

The median cost of rent rose 4 percent year to year in April to $1,364, the biggest jump since March 2013, according to USA Today.

Home sale prices increased 3 percent to $178,400, rising less than 4 percent for the second month after 24 straight months of stronger gains. As a result, rent costs climbed faster than home prices for the first time since real estate database Zillow began tracking the data in 2010.

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