US Rents Fall for 37th Straight Month From a Year Earlier as Concessions Rise

Apartment rents across the nation’s 50 largest metros continued to slip in August, marking the 37th consecutive month of annual declines, according to Realtor.com. As the market enters the fall, the downward trend is expected to continue.

Meanwhile, a larger share of listings offered concessions to renters due to high vacancy rates.

The Sept. 17 report also showed that the median asking rent for studios to two-bedroom units was $1,699 in August, down 0.9 percent, or $16, from the same month last year. It was still $227 higher than the August 2019 level but had declined $65 from the August 2022 peak.

Compared with July, August’s median asking rent rose 0.24 percent, based on calculations from Realtor.com’s monthly reports. The median asking rent has increased each month since February.

Heading into the fall, Realtor.com expects rents to continue to register monthly declines, a pattern that is typical of the season.

The real estate listing site also expects annual rent declines to continue due to the rapid growth in multifamily construction in recent years. “In other words, modest rent relief is likely to continue in 2026,” the report said.

Realtor.com said in an April report that multifamily housing construction “continues to show signs of resilience.” If the trend continues throughout the year, it said, the rental supply is expected to increase to more than 50.5 million units by the first quarter of 2027, 8.5 percent above the pre-pandemic level.

A Sept. 17 Census Bureau report showed that multifamily housing starts in August fell 22.5 percent from July and 15.5 percent from a year earlier, while multifamily building permits declined 3.1 percent from July but increased 9.4 percent from August 2025.

Regionally, rent declines were most pronounced in Midwestern and Southern metros in August, with Memphis, Tennessee, registering the largest annual decrease of 4.1 percent, followed by Tampa, Florida, and San Antonio, Texas, both at 3.8 percent.

On the opposite end, San Jose and San Francisco, California, both recorded the highest rent increases, at more than 4.5 percent.

“Renters are entering the fall with more choices and more negotiating power than they had at the height of the rental market,” Realtor.com senior economist Jiayi Xu said in the report.

She said that although rents were still above pre-COVID-19 levels, continued price declines, new supply, and a larger share of listings offering concessions are “creating more opportunities for renters to find better deals.”

The report showed that the average share of listings offering concessions—such as application fee waivers, rent credits, and rent-free months—was 43.5 percent in August, up from 40.4 percent in August 2025.

Concession activity also differed sharply by market.

Denver led the nation with a 71.9 percent concession rate for studios to two-bedroom apartments. Las Vegas, Nashville, and San Antonio, Texas, also showed concession rates of over 65 percent for August.

“High vacancy rates are fueling the surge in concessions in those metros. Simply put, landlords would rather offer a discount today than absorb a long-term loss from an unoccupied unit,” Realtor.com said.

In San Jose and San Francisco, California, 22.5 percent and 27.4 percent of listings, respectively, offered rent concessions in August

The report attributed the lower concession rates in these two Bay Area markets to an AI-fueled job boom and strong rental demand.