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 1.0% month-over-month, down 1.1% year-over-year
The national median rent fell 1.0% in November, and now stands at $1,367. This was the fourth consecutive month-over-month decline, as we’re now in the midst of the rental market’s off-season. It’s likely that we will close out the year with an additional modest rent decline in December.
Rent prices nationally are down 1.1% compared to one year ago. Year-over-year rent growth has been slightly negative for over two full years, and the national median rent has now fallen from its 2022 peak by a total of 5.2%.
The national multifamily vacancy rate remains at 7.2% this month, a record high for our index. 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: 27th Consecutive Month with Year-over-year Decline in Rents
October 2025 marks the 27th straight month of year-over-year rent decline for 0-2 bedroom properties since trend data began in 2020. Asking rents dipped by $29, or -1.7%, year over year.
Cotality: Single Family Rents Up 1% year-over-year
Annual rent growth in September 2025 was the lowest it’s been in 15 years.
“The story of the single-family rental market is one of deceleration at the national level, but with significant local nuances. Annual single-family rent growth in September hit its lowest point in over 15 years—since June 2010. This is welcome news for renters struggling with affordability,” said Molly Boesel, Senior Principal Economist at Cotality. “However, despite this slowdown, single-family rents are still substantially higher, up 29% over the past five years, adding about $7,300 per year to the national average rental bill, a financial burden that has consumed about one-third of the increase in median family income over that time.”
Across the country, rent growth continued to slow beyond seasonal norms in October, allowing incomes to make progress. Nationally, the median household income is estimated to have increased 4% from last year, while the typical asking rent increased just 2.3%. In 37 of the 50 largest metros, median household incomes have increased faster than rents in the past year.
Rent Data
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