The apartment rental market is officially in its offseason as the national median rent dipped by 0.2% in August to $1,400. That was the first month-over-month decline since January, and modest declines are expected through the remainder of the year, according to Apartment List’s national report for September.
The switch to negative month-over-month rent growth came a bit earlier this year than during the pre-pandemic period. This is the third straight year that prices have begun to dip in August, according to the online marketplace.
The offseason dip was slightly more pronounced in 2025 than last year, and as a result, rents are down 0.9% year-over-year across the country to the lowest level since December 2023. Year-over-year rent growth was on track to turn positive for the first time since 2023 in April, but the rebound reversed over the summer and has dipped further negative for four consecutive months, said Apartment List.
The most significant driver behind soft rent growth over recent years is the historic surge of multifamily construction that peaked in 2024 at more than 600,000 new units. This wave of new inventory has pushed national vacancy to a record high 7.1% as the market continues to work through the new supply. The multifamily construction surge is now past its peak, with only 243,000 units completed during the first half of the year, down 27% from the second half of 2024. However, that delivery rate is still 31% higher than the 10-year average for first-half completions.
Units are taking an average of 29 days to lease after listing, one day longer than last month. That is down from a high of 37 days in January. Owners face more competition for renters and have less pricing leverage due to new inventory sitting on the market.
Rents declined month over month in 33 of the nation’s 54 large metro areas with a population of more than one million. The split was even on a year-over-year basis, with declines concentrated in the South and Mountain West regions.
The nation’s softest conditions are in Austin, with median rent falling 6.6% over the past year and down 18% from its 2022 peak. San Francisco, in contrast, has seen rent grow year-over-year by 4.7%. The fastest increase in the metro is happening in the urban core, with the city of San Francisco seeing prices spike by 11.5% over the past year.
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