U.S. Asking Rents Decline to 2022 Levels
Florida has two metros with steep rent declines. The Sun Belt overall has built more housing, and in some areas, rents are falling.
SEATTLE — The median U.S. asking rent fell 0.3% year over year in December to $1,594 — the lowest level since March 2022, according to the real estate brokerage Redfin.
The median asking rent was down 0.1% from a month earlier, and down 6.2% from its August 2022 record high of $1,700. The median asking rent per square foot dropped 1.9% year over year in December to $1.78, and fell 0.1% month over month.
Asking rents have been inching down because an influx of supply has left apartment owners with rising vacancies. Apartment completions surged 58.1% year over year to the highest level since 1974 in the third quarter — the most recent period for which data is available. As a result, the vacancy rate for buildings with five or more units rose to 8%, the highest since early 2021.
“We’re kicking off 2025 in a renter’s market, with many renters finding that apartments cost less than a year ago — especially in the Sun Belt,” said Redfin Senior Economist Sheharyar Bokhari. “While asking rents declined in 2024, they may not have much further to fall this year given that apartment construction has begun to slow.”
Asking rents fell across all apartment types; 3+ bedrooms saw the largest decline
Asking rents fell across all bedroom counts for the sixth consecutive month in December.
The median asking rent for 0-1 bedroom apartments fell 1% year over year to $1,449. For 2 bedroom apartments, it declined 0.6% to $1,665, and for 3+ bedroom apartments, it dropped 2.5% to $1,950.
Asking rents fell fastest in Austin, 23% below all-time high
In Austin, TX, the median asking rent dropped 16.3% year over year in December — the largest decline among the 44 major U.S. metropolitan areas Redfin analyzed. At $1,393, Austin’s median asking rent last month was 22.6% below its August 2023 record high.
Florida is home to the two metros that posted the next steepest declines: Tampa (-10.4%) and Jacksonville (-6.7%). Next came Nashville (-6.3%) and New York (-4.6%).
Asking rents are falling most in the Sun Belt because the region has been building a lot of housing, and because in some areas, rents are coming back down to earth after rising to unsustainable levels during the pandemic moving frenzy.
Rents rose most in Providence, RI (12.6% YoY), followed by Virginia Beach, VA (10.9%), Louisville, KY (10%), Baltimore (10%) and Buffalo, NY (9.4%).
Source: Redfin
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