His site is also looking at a different geography. The nearly 10 percent increase reported by Delta Associates is for the entire metro area. (That firm did offer a few city-specific figures: a 3.4 percent increase in downtown Baltimore and a nearly 16 percent jump in the Fells Point/Inner Harbor area.)

RentJungle, looking within 10 miles of downtown, found apartment ads asking for an average monthly rent of $1,123 during the July to September period. That's up 2.7 percent from a year earlier. (It's actually down slightly from the spring, by $9 a month.)

As you might expect, $1,123 is significantly lower than what Delta Associates found Class A complexes were charging. The monthly rent for those higher-end places averaged $1,470, Delta Associates said.

So where are the priciest and cheapest neighborhoods for rentals? According to RentJungle, Federal Hill's at one extreme, with an average monthly rent of about $1,800. Fells Point, the Inner Harbor and Canton are all over $1,500. At the low end: Upper Northwood, Cedonia and Chinquapin Park-Belvedere, all between $800 and $900. (Charles Village is also under $1,000, RentJungle says.)

When I reported the 10 percent increase figure, some readers noted that the experience of the high end of the rental market doesn't necessarily hold true across the board. So it's good to see figures that try to encompass a larger spectrum of rentals.

Wonk reader Cathy suggested in a comment that asking prices for rentals (much like homes for sale) are not the full story. Though rents in Baltimore might be higher, she wrote, "the number of vacant rentals has increased. And until rents come down, those rentals will never be filled."

David found that rent increases aren't always set in stone: "I saw a 5% increase in my rent when I was sent my renewal in June. I told my landlord that I planned to move out. In September, just a few weeks before I moved, the rental office emailed me and said that they had some 'flexibility' and would I contact them. I would encourage renters to not renew unless they do a little negotiating."

But Shireen, who detailed her negotiating success story here last year, said it was a no-go for her this time: "My apartment complex, which was undergoing a transition (renovations) has been filling up over the year, mostly with Towson U. students. They've become less interested in negotiating with good long-term tenants. As a result, my rent has increased by $125/month. That's painful."