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Apartment rents continue to rise faster across South Florida than the rest of the country, and renters can expect to keep shelling out more money when their leases expire. About the only bit of good news for cash-strapped apartment dwellers: The rent increases should start to even out. The average rent in Broward County in March was $1,436 a month, up 7 percent from the same period a year ago, according to the Axiometrics research firm in Dallas. Over the same period, Palm Beach County’s average rent climbed 8 percent to $1,429 a month. Nationwide, the average March rent rose 5 percent to $1,187. With apartment occupancy in the two counties at about 96 percent, landlords are firmly in control of the market. But as a wave of development opens, renters will have more options and gain some leverage, Axiometrics said.