- The national median asking rent was $1,647 in July, $53 below the all-time high in 2022.
- Rents for apartments with three or more bedrooms fell the fastest, by 2.4% compared to the previous year.
- Rents have declined in Sun Belt metropolitan areas, particularly in Florida and Texas, where new construction has been strong since the pandemic.
The median asking rent fell across all bedrooms in July compared to the same period last year, for the first time since June 2020.
Median asking rents for 0-1 bedroom apartments fell 0.1% (to $1,498 per month), 2 bedroom apartments fell 0.3% (to $1,730) and 3 bedroom apartments fell more than 2.4% (to $2,010). All three categories are at least $50 below the all-time highs of the past two years.
Prices for 0-1 bedroom and 2 bedroom apartments remained stable despite increased supply due to higher demand in these categories. However, the increased supply of 3 bedroom and above apartments caused prices to fall faster in July due to lower demand for larger, more expensive units that also compete with single-family homes.
The overall rental vacancy rate has been at 6.6% for four consecutive quarters, the highest level since 2021, while the vacancy rate for buildings with 5+ apartments – the subject of this report – is at 7.8% in the second quarter, an increase from 7.4% in the previous year.
“Rents have recently stabilized – or even declined slightly – due to the sheer number of apartments built in the last two years,” said Redfin Senior Economist Sheharyar Bokhari“Building is slow down and prices will start to rise again at some point, but now is still a good time for renters to get a bargain, especially families looking for a home with at least three bedrooms.”
Average asking rent across the country is rising slightly, but is still $53 below the all-time high
The average rent for all bedrooms together is actually rose 0.4% year-on-year in July to $1,647. This discrepancy between the combined result (which shows an increase) and the three different bedroom numbers (which all fell) is the result of a statistical phenomenon known as Simpson’s Paradox.
The national median asking rent decreased 0.2% month-on-month in June, and was $53 below the all-time high of $1,700 recorded in August 2022. Despite the slight decline, affordability is still a serious issue for renter households, which account for approximately $11,000 less than is necessary to afford a normal apartment.
“Rents have recently stabilized – or even declined slightly – due to the sheer number of apartments built in the last two years,” said Redfin Senior Economist Sheharyar Bokhari“Building is slow down and prices will start to rise again at some point, but now is still a good time for renters to get a bargain, especially families looking for a home with at least three bedrooms.”
The overall rental vacancy rate remained at 6.6% for four consecutive quarters, the highest level since 2021, while the vacancy rate for buildings with 5 or more units – the subject of this report – was 7.8% in the second quarter, up from 7.4% a year earlier.
Rents are falling across the Sun Belt, while cities on the East Coast and Midwest are seeing big increases
Large price declines continue to occur in metropolitan areas of Texas and Florida, two states that have seen a lot of new housing construction since the pandemic.
Median rent in Austin, Texas, fell the most in July of all the metropolitan areas we analyzed, dropping 16.9% year over year. Jacksonville, Florida, was not far behind, with median rent falling 14.3%.
San Diego (down 12.7%), San Francisco (down 7.6%) and Tampa, FL (down 5.9%) were the five metropolitan areas with the largest declines in asking rents.
The metropolitan-level data in this report include asking rents for apartments in 33 major U.S. metropolitan areas. National data represents the entire U.S.
The median asking rent in Virginia Beach, VA, rose 13.7% year over year in July, the largest increase among the metropolitan areas analyzed by Redfin. Baltimore, MD (up 12.5%), Washington, DC (up 11.6%), Chicago (up 10.3%) and Cincinnati, OH (up 9.9%) saw the next highest increases.
Note: Redfin is releasing bedroom-specific data for the first time this month to provide more detailed insights into the rental market. Rental data is now shared publicly every month.
Metro level summary: July 2024
| Metropolitan area USA | Average asking rent | Monthly change in average asking rent | Change in average asking rent compared to the previous year |
| Atlanta, Georgia | $1,573 | -0.1% | -0.9% |
| Austin, Texas | $1,458 | -1.2% | -16.9% |
| Baltimore, Maryland | 1,665 USD | 0.9% | 12.5% |
| Boston, Massachusetts | $2,833 | -1.0% | 5.1% |
| Charlotte, North Carolina (State) | 1,521 USD | 0.3% | -3.6% |
| Chicago, Illinois | 1,764 USD | -0.6% | 10.3% |
| Cincinnati, Ohio | $1,356 | -1.4% | 9.9% |
| Dallas, Texas | 1,506 USD | -0.6% | -2.2% |
| Denver, Colorado | 1,827 USD | -0.2% | -0.3% |
| Detroit, Michigan | 1,392 USD | -0.9% | 1.6% |
| Houston, Texas | $1,299 | 1.0% | 9.6% |
| Indianapolis, IN | 1,415 USD | -1.9% | 4.5% |
| Jacksonville, Florida | 1,465 USD | -1.5% | -14.3% |
| Las Vegas, NV | $1,520 | -1.0% | 4.8% |
| Los Angeles, California | $2,772 | -0.6% | -4.4% |
| Miami, Florida | $2,430 | -1.3% | -3.2% |
| Minneapolis, Minnesota | $1,648 | -0.3% | 7.4% |
| Nashville, Tennessee: The most beautiful beaches | $1,594 | -0.3% | -4.8% |
| New York, NY | 3,047 USD | 0.7% | 3.2% |
| Orlando, FL | 1,772 USD | -0.2% | -4.4% |
| Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | 1,925 USD | -1.2% | 0.6% |
| Phoenix, Arizona | $1,528 | -0.2% | -4.4% |
| Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | 1,465 USD | -1.6% | -3.5% |
| Portland, Oregon | $1,799 | -1.4% | -3.8% |
| Riverside, California | 2,315 USD | -0.1% | 1.8% |
| Sacramento, California | $2,047 | 0.1% | 1.6% |
| San Diego, California | $2,699 | -0.8% | -12.7% |
| San Francisco, California | 2,693 USD | -1.2% | -7.6% |
| San Jose, California | 3,302 USD | 0.6% | 0.8% |
| Seattle, Washington (State) | 2,075 USD | -0.3% | -3.5% |
| Tampa, Florida (state) | $1,750 | 0.2% | -5.9% |
| Virginia Beach, Virginia | 1,610 USD | -0.1% | 13.7% |
| Washington, DC | $2,109 | 0.7% | 11.6% |
| National – USA | 1,647 USD | -0.2% | 0.4% |
methodology
The median asking rent figures in this report refer to newly listed units in multifamily buildings with five or more units. The median is calculated based on a rolling three-month period, so the July 2024 median asking rent includes rental properties listed on Rent.com and Redfin.com during the three months ending July 31, 2024.
The metro-level data in this report covers 33 of the 50 most populous U.S. core statistical areas (CBSAs)—those for which Rent. and Redfin have sufficient rental data. The national numbers are based on data for the entire U.S.
Asking rents reflect the current cost of new leases during the period in question. In other words, the amount reported as the median asking rent is not the median of what all tenants are paying, but the median asking price of the apartments that were available to new tenants during the reporting period.
