Tracking rents is important for understanding the dynamics of the housing market. Slower household formation and increased supply (more multi-family completions) has kept asking rents under pressure for the last few years.
More recently, immigration policy has become a negative for rentals.
Rents are down 0.8% month-over-month, and down 1.3% year-over-year
The national median rent fell 0.8% in December, and now stands at $1,356. This closes the book on 2025, with five consecutive months of rent declines. Based on recent years, we expect another 1-2 months of rent drops before the market turns a corner in early Spring.
Rent prices nationally are down 1.3% compared to one year ago. Year-over-year rent growth has been slightly negative for more than two full years, and the national median rent has now fallen from its 2022 peak by a total of 5.9%.
The national multifamily vacancy rate ran up to 7.3% this month, a record high for our index that started in 2017. We’re past the peak of a multifamily construction surge, but a healthy supply of new units are still hitting the market and colliding with sluggish demand, causing vacancies to continue trending up.
Realtor.com: 28th Consecutive Month with Year-over-year Decline in Rents
Across the 50 largest metropolitan areas in the United States, median asking rent for 0-2 bedroom units fell for the 28th consecutive month on a year-over-year basis.
Cotality: Single Family Rents Up 0.9% year-over-year
U.S. single-family rent prices increased 0.9% year over year in October 2025.
Single-family rent prices in October 2025 increased 0.9% from October 2024, which is significantly less than the 2.8% increase recorded between October 2023 and October 2024.
“Forty of the largest 50 metros posted lower annual rent growth compared to October 2024. Eighteen metros saw outright year-over-year declines in the Single-Family Rent Index, with half of those declines occurring in Florida,” said Molly Boesel, senior principal economist at Cotality. “While this moderation is notable, rents remain elevated compared to pre-pandemic levels. Annual growth peaked in March 2022, and even after three years of slowing, the national index in October was still 9% higher than the 2022 average level. This trend reflects a normalization process rather than a reversal, as affordability challenges and regional dynamics continue to shape rent performance.”
Real Page on August Rents: Annual Rent Growth of -0.1%
Rent cuts persisted across the U.S. apartment market in November, as occupancy fell below the essentially full mark. But rent cuts, at least, aren’t getting any more intense.
After four consecutive months of mild decline, occupancy fell to 94.8% in November, according to data from RealPage Market Analytics. U.S. occupancy was 10 basis points (bps) below the October showing and has fallen 70 bps in the past four months. Year-over-year, occupancy was down 10 bps, marking the first annual decline the market has seen since August 2024.
As occupancy faded, effective asking rents have also fallen for four consecutive months. U.S. prices fell 0.4% in November and were down 0.7% year-over-year. However, it should be noted that, after rent cuts intensified for three months straight, the annual decline in November matched last month’s pace, marking a slowdown to the progressive decline. Still, this was the second month of annual rent declines around that level – the nation’s deepest since March 2021.
According to Zillow’s November Rental Report, rents edged down as the usual winter slowdown took hold. The typical U.S. asking rent fell 0.3% from October to $1,925. This decline mirrors patterns seen in prior years. Cooler weather and fewer moves typically ease pressure on rents, contributing to the seasonal dip.
Over the past year, the rental market has moved firmly in favor of renters. New supply and lower churn have contributed to a calmer pace of rent changes across many metros. Rent growth is now somewhat lower than before the pandemic. Before the pandemic, annual rent growth for a single family rental averaged roughly 4.3% while annual rent growth for a multifamily rental was roughly 3.6%. Over the past year, rent growth was just 3% and 1.5% for single-family and multifamily rentals, respectively.
Rent Data
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