As the New Year rolls in, 2023 is hanging on when it comes to multifamily rent growth. Apartment List reported that the market closed in December with national median rent dropping 0.8% to $1,379. That was the fifth month in a row in which rent growth was negative.

Year-over-year growth has dwindled to -0.1%, making apartment rents a little less expensive than the same time last year. The previous two years saw double-digit rent increases, peaking at 18%. On the whole during 2023, rents were down 0.7%. That compares to the period of 2017 through 2019 when full year rent growth was an average 2.6%. In 2020, rents fell by 1.3% while 2021 had a big increase of 17.6%.

"But despite this cool down, the national median rent is still nearly $250 per month higher than it was just three years ago," the report said. Because of the previous frantic rate of growth, it would take time to fall back to previous levels.