Era of Big Declines May be Over as Asking Rents Rise

The median U.S. apartment asking rent has risen for the first time in six months, climbing 0.4% year-over-year to $1,607 in February. On a month-over-month basis, asking rents climbed 0.6% for the month, Redfin said in its latest analysis.

Asking rents have been relatively flat for the past 10 months when compared with the large swings they have experienced over the past few years, said Redfin. During the pandemic-driven moving frenzy in 2021, rents skyrocketed by as much as 18% year-over-year followed by declines of up to 4% in 2023. As rents continue to flatten due to a growing equilibrium in rental supply and demand, the era of big rent declines may be over for most of the country, said Redfin senior economist Sheharyar Bokhari.

“A ton of new apartments have hit the market, and demand for those apartments is strong because it’s so expensive to buy a home,” said Bokhari.

“But apartment construction is starting to slow, which means there may be more renters than apartments to go around as soon as next year. That could cause rents to tick up and the perks that many renters have grown accustomed to – like free parking – to disappear.” Asking rents rose 15.3% in Cincinnati, the largest growth rate of any market nationwide. Providence, Rhode Island, followed with rent growth of 12.4%, while Baltimore climbed 9.6%, Washington, D.C. increased 9.2% and Cleveland rents rose 8.5%.

Meanwhile, prices dropped the most of any market in Austin, Texas, falling 9.4% year-over-year in February to $1,404. Rents in Austin are now 22% below their August 2023 record high.

The market with the second-largest asking rent drop in February was Salt Lake City, down 7.8%, followed by Jacksonville, Florida (-6.7%), Minneapolis (-5.9%) and San Diego (-5.6%). Redfin said asking rates have been falling quickly in parts of Texas and Florida because they are building more housing than in other states. In addition, Florida has been contending with intensifying natural disasters that may be dissuading people from moving there.

The study also revealed that asking rents increased more for larger apartments during February. The median asking rent for a 0-1 bedroom apartment rose 0.4% year-over-year to $1,467. The median asking rent for two bedroom apartments increased 0.5% to $1,689. Both increases were the first since June. Although the median asking rent for apartments with three or more bedrooms fell 0.5% to $1,990, that was the smallest decline in months, said Redfin.

Source: “Era of Big Declines May be Over as Asking Rents Rise”

Era of Big Declines May be Over as Asking Rents Rise

03.11.2025