By Mary Prenon
U.S. renters may continue to save money as the national median asking rent fell for the 33rd consecutive month to $1,673 in April, according to a new report. At the same time, a surge in multi-family construction indicates a healthy supply of apartments could continue into the next few years.
Realtor.com’s April Rental Report, released on May 13, shows median rents for all apartment sizes across the top 50 metro areas declined by 1.7 percent year over year, saving the average renter about $29 a month. More than three-fourths of these metro areas recorded an annual decline in rents.
Oklahoma City was the only one of the nation’s top metros to offer a median apartment rent of under $1,000 a month, at $911. For a little more than $1,100 a month, renters could find apartments in San Antonio, Texas; St. Louis, Missouri; Memphis, Tennessee; or Columbus, Ohio.
California and New York still dominated the premier-priced rental markets, with the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro commanding a median monthly rent of $3,306—the nation’s highest and one of the few metros to see a slight increase in prices. San Francisco, San Diego, and Los Angeles all garnered monthly median rents of more than $2,600.
Apartment seekers looking to live in the New York City or Boston metro areas paid a monthly median rent of $2,920, while those who made Miami home spent about $2,273.
“The story isn’t the same in every region, and that matters for where renters will feel relief next,” Realtor.com economist Jiayi Xu said in the report. “As we move into the spring and summer leasing seasons, we expect the median asking rent to tick up modestly on a monthly basis, which is the typical seasonal pattern.”
Though the country’s median rent in the 50 largest metros was $1,673, or $254, 17.9 percent higher than pre-pandemic levels in April 2019, it has dropped by $92, or 5.2 percent, from its peak in August 2022. Mutlifamily construction, meanwhile, has registered an 11.4 percent increase from pre-pandemic levels.
“Many renters have experienced meaningful relief over the past nearly three years, and although completions have slowed, forward-looking indicators are renter friendly,” Realtor.com chief economist Danielle Hale said in the report.
The report notes that groundbreakings for multifamily units rose by 19.7 percent year over year in the first quarter, suggesting “meaningful” supply over the following 12 to 24 months.
The report indicates that multi-family construction was above historical levels with about 684,000 units under construction during the first quarter—an 11.4 percent increase from the pre-pandemic level of 614,000. Multi-family construction reached its peak in the first quarter of 2024, at 971,000 units.
By the end of the first quarter, 470,000 housing completions were reported. If that pace continues, Reator.com predicts that total housing stock could grow to more than 50.5 million units by the first quarter of 2027, surpassing the pre-pandemic level by 8.5 percent.
Regionally, the South led the nation in multifamily units under construction in the first quarter, at 279,000, with completions at 199,000. The West followed with 174,000 units under construction and tied with the Northeast for competitions at just over 100,000 during the same time frame.
The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) remains cautiously optimistic about construction starts for the rest of this year. Earlier this month, in its Multifamily Market Survey, NAHB reported mixed results for the first quarter.
“Multifamily developer sentiment is roughly where it was at this time last year, although the combination of regulatory hurdles, interest rates, insurance costs and volatility in material prices is threatening the viability of some projects,” NAHB Multifamily Council Chair Kip Lewis said in the report. “Also, in some markets, developers are reporting that it has become more difficult to obtain permits for unsubsidized projects.”
The report indicates that the market for garden and low-rise apartments is stronger than the market for mid- and high-rise apartments.
“NAHB is projecting that multifamily starts will increase slightly in 2026, but current production rates are unlikely to be sustained through 2027,” NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz said in the report.
