National rents for lifestyle rentals increased .8% in May, but national rent growth has been sluggish and reached its lowest year-over-year growth since February 2011, the report stated.

Lifestyle rentals in gateway markets were down much more, with L.A. (-3.2%), San Francisco and Boston (-2.5% each) leading the downward charge. The report stated that this could also be impacting the short term corporate rental market as well, as tenants have been fleeing gateway cities since lockdowns began. 

While the rental market is down, collections continued to be strong in May, according to the report. Rent collections sat at 93.3% for apartment households, according to the National Multifamily Housing Council. 

With the CARES Act funding set to expire in July, with the  additional $600 in unemployment benefits in tow, a decline in collections later in the summer seems "imminent", the report stated.

The HEROS Act, passed by the House on May 15, would extend those additional benefits until January 2021. The $3 trillion spending package is expected to find significant opposition in the Senate. A lack of that additional money, necessary for many who are unemployed to continue to pay rent, is expected to have a significant impact on rent collection rates. 

Nationwide, rents decreased by 30 basis points on a month-over-month basis. Over the last two months, rents have decreased by $13, with a national average of $1460. The report said that if this trend continues, the industry could be looking at "alarming numbers" by the end of summer.