The Real Deal: Demand, cost for rentals has gone up. Here’s how to stay on budget and get in fast.

Rent prices are soaring these days, and with rising interest rates and surging property values -- the demand for rentals has gone up, and same with the cost.
Caleb Silver, the editor in chief of Investopedia, breaks down rent increases in the state.
“Rents have been pretty much all year throughout the state of New Jersey and again in June,” says Silver. “But when we look at the year over year comparison, they are drastic. Hudson County rents are up 15%, Bergen County 8.6%, Morris County 7% rise and Monmouth 5.7%. So, we are seeing that steady increase throughout the year.”
Silver also says 19% of renters in New Jersey are having a hard time paying their monthly bill.
It's Ramiro Ortiz’s first time on the apartment hunt. He's 23, just graduated Fairleigh Dickinson University and is on a strict budget.  
“All these places around here in the New Jersey area, Morristown, Warren, Piscataway, Newark, they are over like $1,800,” says Ortiz.
Despite all of his saving, that's just not for him. 
In Piscataway with Steven Fox, he has 26 years of experience in real estate, but has never seen anything like this. 
“The labor shortage is awful, is awful for our industry,” says Fox, with Fox & Foxx Development. “A lot of our operating expenses are labor driven. Landscaping has increased, snow removal has increased, insurance has increased. Just my in house structure salary and payroll have increased, so with that, of course, rent has to be increased.”
Realtor Veronica Hary says cut down spending where you can. 
“Every penny that you save contributes to your bank account,” says Hary.