Typically, apartment rents start to rise at this time of year, according to Apartment List. And while they are for the fourth month in a row, according to the site's June 2023 rent report, the pace is slower than average and "is flattening out at a time of year when it's normally picking up steam." Blame "sluggish demand and increasing supply" which are "keeping prices in check."

Year-over-year growth was down to 0.9% in May—lower than April's 1.8%. May's was the lowest point since March 2021, below the 2018 to 2019 2.8% average, and could go slightly negative in the next few months.

The vacancy index is 7%, already past pre-pandemic levels, and rising. Additional supply is a big factor, as the number of privately-owned multifamily units in 5-plus buildings under construction is currently 959,000, as government data indicates. That's a record number since 1970, although compared to population, June 1973 had the most per capita units under construction.