According to a new Rent.com. report, in December, the national rent price yearly decreases continued, with a decrease of less than 1% from the same month last year. With a drop of 0.78% last month, rentals have decreased for three consecutive months compared year-over-year.
The decline in rent in December was smaller than in previous months. In November, year-over-year decreases were down by 2.09%, and in October, they fell by less than one-third of 1%.
Asking rentals also decreased on a monthly basis for the fourth time in a row, but at a slightly slower rate from November to December (-0.1%). In contrast to a monthly percentage decline of -0.57 between October and November and just over 2% between August and September, the asking rents as of right now have decreased by 0.11% month-over-month.
The median price of an apartment in the U.S. is now $1,964. August 2022 experienced a peak rent price of $2,054.
The asking rent for December represents a 0.1% percentage change in comparison to November’s pricing of $1,967. For the third consecutive month, the median rent price has dropped below $2,000. This month is December.
The market’s return to normalcy is shown by December’s little price decline. Prior to the pandemic, prices saw double-digit rises between October 2021 and August 2022, with prices rising by 11.5%, from $1,839 to $2,054. From that September forward, rents declined gradually until February 2023, when they fell to $1,937. Rents have risen steadily since then, reaching a peak in August.
Since the pandemic, rents have risen by 23%, adding $371 to monthly rent prices—an annual rate of 5.8%, still above pre-pandemic norms.
The median price of an apartment across the country right now is $1,964. The month of August 2022 saw a peak rent price of $2,054.
The asking rent for December represents a 0.1% percentage change in comparison to November’s pricing of $1,967. For the third consecutive month, the median rent price has fallen below $2,000. This month is December.
The market’s return to normalcy is shown by December’s little price decline. Prior to the pandemic, prices enjoyed double-digit rises between October 2021 and August 2022, with prices rising by 11.5%, from $1,839 to $2,054. From that September forward, rents declined continuously until February 2023, when they fell to $1,937. Rents have risen steadily since then, reaching a peak in August.
Regionally, rents declined in the West and South and increased in the Northeast and Midwest. In the Midwest, asking rent increased by 3.7%. At $1,434, the area is still more affordable than the Northeast by over $1,000 and the West by more than $900. The Midwest used to be the cheapest region in the U.S., but since the pre-pandemic lows of 2019, prices have climbed by 17%, or $211.
Examining National and Regional Asking Rents
For the fourth straight month, Southern median rents declined. The South’s asking rent is $1,632, which is significantly less than the Northeast and West’s asking rates.
At $2,439, asking rents in the Northeast remain the highest in the country, having increased by $41 since December 2022 and 1.7% annually. Prices in the West decreased by 0.6% annually to $2,346. Metros in the Mountain West, where a surge during the epidemic has cooled and restored some degree of affordability to the area, are the driving force behind the decrease in the West.
States with Largest Increases in Asking Rents YoY:
- Mississippi ($1,232)
- New Hampshire ($2,074)
- Michigan ($1,507)
- Minnesota ($,1641)
- North Dakota ($1,104)
- Kansas ($1,231)
- Missouri ($1,211)
- Alabama ($1,233)
- Wisconsin ($1,539)
- South Carolina ($1,519)
States with Largest Decreases in Asking Rents YoY:
- Florida ($2,095)
- Idaho ($1,548)
- Oregon ($1,678)
- Washington ($2,219)
- Utah ($1,625)
- Kentucky ($1,243)
- Texas ($1,430)
- Nevada ($1,536)
- North Carolina ($1,586)
- Tennessee ($1,558)
The lone Southern state on the list, Mississippi, led the way in annual gains in December at 14.67%, despite 3.74% monthly price changes. Despite price drops of approximately 1.5% from November, rents in New Hampshire increased by 12.8% in the Northeast.
In Michigan, annual rent rates increased by a significant 12.47%, while monthly increases were only 0.17%. Minnesota was another Midwest state with high annual rent increases; there, rentals increased by 11.65%.
In Florida, there were steep drops, with annual rent cuts of 9.21%. The Western states of Idaho and Oregon, which experienced the second- and third-highest annual declines of 5.76%, trailed the Sunshine State.
Los Angeles and Seattle also witnessed significant improvements in the West. San Jose remains the most costly West Coast metro area in the research, with monthly rent increases of 3.08% and a significant 9.48% annually. San Jose’s current median monthly rent is $3,795, higher than the $3,515 and $2,903 rates in Los Angeles and Seattle, respectively. Phoenix rents also saw a noteworthy annual 5% increase, as the median cost of an apartment there is $2,104.
Change in Median Rents by State
Salt Lake City saw the largest annual metro loss in December, with rentals falling by a significant 20.75%. With a 12.5% year-over-year reduction in rent, Austin had the second-largest decline among the study’s metro areas. The Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise metro saw a 9.3% decline in rent. Right now, asking prices for rent in Austin are $1,985 and in Las Vegas are $1,638.
Portland rents are currently $2,302, a 6.72% decrease from the previous year. Additionally, in Miami, where they are currently $2,915, rentals fell 7.67% annually. Miami continues to be the most costly metro area in the American South despite the decline.
In other parts of the South, rents have decreased by 6–12% in Raleigh, Houston, Memphis-Nashville, Tennessee, and New Orleans.
To read the full report, including more data, charts, and methodology, click here.
