Did You Know...Rents are Down?

Rents have been declining since August of 2022 according to a report by Apartment Lists. In August, Charlotte saw a 27 percent decrease year-over-year in average rent prices on two-bedroom apartments.

Rent growth continues to slow to rates not typically seen at this time of the year. The national rent index for the duration of January declined 0.3%, according to the latest Apartment List National Rent Report. This is the fifth consecutive month of month-to-month declines.

“This month’s price dip was notably more moderate than the record-setting declines we saw from October through December. That said, January’s decline was still sharper than the usual seasonal trend, signaling the continuation of a broader cooldown in market conditions,” according to the report.

Year-over-year rent growth is now at its lowest level (+3.3%) since April 2021, and this growth is only slightly ahead of the 2.8% growth average seen in 2018 and 2019. Locally, rents declined in two-thirds of the 100 largest U.S. cities.

Six of the top 10 fastest-growing metros in the past six months witnessed rents decline 1%, while the other four were at minus 2%. Indianapolis was among the cities with negative 1% rent growth during the past six months. Indianapolis was also the city with the largest rent growth (8%) during the past 12 months, a list that was once home to warm-weather cities has now been overtaken by mainly Midwestern metros, such as Indianapolis, Oklahoma City, Cincinnati and Chicago. While those Sun Belt markets—Tucson, Ariz., Miami, Las Vegas, among others—are still well-represented in the March 2020 list of fastest-growing metros, Rochester, N.Y., is fourth, and Indianapolis is 10th.

Rochester is also tied atop the list of the slowest-growing cities at -8% during the past six months. Many of those metros are larger cities like Seattle (also -8% during the past six months), Detroit, Boston and New York. Larger cities, such Phoenix, Atlanta and San Francisco, are also among the slowest rent growth metros during the past 12 months. Bay Area neighbors, San Francisco and San Jose were the slowest cities for rent growth since March 2020 at -5% and -2%, respectively. This time frame was also dotted with larger markets: Washington, D.C., Houston and Pittsburgh.