Apartment hunters are witnessing significant concessions from landlords and gaining more bargaining power as rent growth slows in many regions.
Rent growth in June 2025 was “historically subdued,” driving landlords to make the highest share of concessions of any June on record, according to a new market rental report from Zillow. The concessions were especially valuable because they help rents fit into tight budgets that have felt the squeeze of price hikes of 35.3% during the last five years. The median tenant now needs to spend 30.1% of their income to afford the typical rent. This translates to needing to make $82,743 per year.
In June–typically peak season in the rental market -- more than one-third of renters (35.2%) on Zillow were offered concessions like free parking or weeks of free rent. Year-over-year, the share of rental listings offering concessions rose by 2.3 percentage points. However, there were variations among metros. Every month, fewer concessions were offered in 24 major metros, including Richmond, Seattle, Washington, D.C., Birmingham and Austin. But in 26 other metros, the share of rentals with concessions rose in June, especially in Memphis, Columbus, Los Angeles, Phoenix and Oklahoma City.
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“Even the single-family rental market, which has been the primary driver of rent growth amid ongoing affordability challenges for would-be buyers, showed signs of moderating,” Zillow noted. Zillow’s Single-family ZORF (Observed Rent Forecast) is now projected to grow by 2.7% in 2025, down from 4.5% in 2024.”
Nevertheless, single-family rents rose from year-ago levels in 49 of the 50 largest metros, though they fell on a monthly basis in four large metros. Overall, they were up 3.6% compared to last year.
Multifamily ZORF also dipped to 1.3%, down from 2.4% in 2024. The typical asking rent climbed 0.3% to $1,887 from May to June, and 2.3% since June 2024. It fell on a monthly basis in 11 major metros but increased on an annual basis in 43 out of 50 markets.
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