Apartment Rents Decline in More Than Half of U.S. Markets

Record new supply continues to put downward pressure on apartment rents despite strong demand, with more than half of the country’s 44 core-based statistical areas showing declining rents. That is the highest number of markets that posted price dips since September 2023, according to a Redfin report reflecting May.

Overall, median asking rents averaged $1,633 last month, a 1% decrease year-over-year, while on a month-over-month basis, asking rents were up 0.5%. Rents remain $72 below the August 2022 record high.

“Apartment construction in America has been hovering near a 50-year high, and even though renter demand is strong, it’s not keeping pace with supply,” said Redfin senior economist Sheharyar Bokhari. “Many units are sitting vacant for months, which means renters have the power to negotiate concessions and landlords have less leeway to keep rents high.”

Rents, although falling, are less volatile than they were during the pandemic, according to the report. Rents have moved up or down only about 1% or less during the past 15 months. Rent swings during the pandemic jumped as high as 17.7%, while falling as much as 4.1%.

The steepest median rent decline for May was in Austin, dropping 8.8% year-over-year to $1,385. That is the lowest rents have been in the Texas market since February 2021, and $414 below the record high in 2023. After Austin were Minneapolis, where rents dropped 6.3%, Columbus, Ohio, down 3.5%, Nashville down 3.4% and Portland, Oregon, down 3.4%.

New supply is likely the primary driver of rent declines. According to Redfin, Austin granted permits to build nearly 65 multifamily units for every 10,000 people from April 2024 to March 2025, the most of any metro the residential brokerage analyzed. Columbus and Nashville also ranked within the top 10 in multifamily permitting, and both were among the nation’s rent decline leaders.

On the flip side, median asking rent rose the most in Cincinnati, up 7.4% to a record $1,460 in May, followed by Tampa, up 4.2%, St. Louis, up 4%, Pittsburgh, up 3.5% and Birmingham, Alabama, up 2.4%. Three metros logged record high rents in May, including Chicago at $1,781, Memphis at $1,274, and Washington, D.C., at $2,104.

All of the metros that are recording rent increases, aside from Tampa and Washington, D.C., are permitting less multifamily construction than the national average. This is likely helping prices in the regions, said the report.

Asking rents fell the most for two-bedroom apartments overall, during May, decreasing 1.8% to $1,704. Meanwhile, rents for 0-1 bedroom apartments fell 0.7% to $1,492 and costs for apartments with three or more bedrooms fell 0.2% to $2,009.