rent price increase in coming years

Going up. Not wildly by any stretch, but going up.

It's very rare that prices go down. During the recent economic downturn there were definitely drops and landlords were more willing to negotiate down on lease renewals and offering incentives to new tenants. That's already changing, however, with very few incentives being offered and renewals generally clocking a standard 3-6% increase. If your LL is offering only a 1% increase, you are ahead of the curve.

I think you should assume that rents will track inflation (CPI) over long periods of time. This is because the Fed counts rents as about a third of CPI and will act strongly to counteract rates that are much higher or much lower than the intended rate. The market currently puts long-term inflation predictions at 2-2.5% a year. Obviously, there will be cyclicality to all this, and arguably we are currently at the bottom of a cycle.

This chart shows this all pretty well: it is inflation-adjusted median rents over time.
http://millersamuel.com/charts/gallery-view.php?ViewNode=1278563026VbVEa&Record=6

Also understand that the renewal rates demanded/gotten by landlords generally outpace the rate increases in the market. If the market is up 3%, a smart landlord will ask for and get a 6% increase. Very few people will leave over a hard-to-quantify 3% over-charge relative to market. Eventually, after 3 or 5 years or whatever, the tenant decides to move and finds a market where rents are 10-15% lower than what he/she was paying.

Flmaozzzzzzzz. Huntertroll. Really, every 3bdrm I've seen been listed for 4months? So when things don't sell raise prices? What r u a commie. Look at your 1040 bitch. Thatz your reality.