Apartment Rents Turn Positive After Six Months

Rent growth has returned to the apartment sector for the first time in six months, according to the March 2024 Apartment List National Rent Report.

Staying in line with seasonal tendencies, prices ticked up 0.2 percent last month and today the nationwide median rent stands at $1,377. On a year-over-year basis, rent growth is negative, at -1 percent.

The “slow season” that started in August 2023 was longer and steeper than historical standards, according to Apartment List.

“As the market cools, apartments are on average slightly cheaper today than they were one year ago,” according to the report. “But despite this cooldown, the national median rent is still more than $200 per month higher than it was just three years ago.”

The national vacancy index continues trending higher, reaching 6.6 percent today.

“With this year expected to bring the most new apartment completions in decades, we expect that there will continue to be an abundance of vacant units on the market in the year ahead,” Apartment List said. “This, after 2023 saw the most new apartments complete construction in more than 30 years. This means that renters should have more available options than they have in some time, especially in the Sun Belt markets where construction activity has been strongest.”

Some 57 of the nation’s 100 largest cities saw rents rise in February. But on a year-over-year basis, rent growth is positive for only 43 of these cities.

The Sun Belt is home to many of the steepest year-over-year rent declines. For example, Austin saw a 6.7 percent decline year-over-year, Atlanta, -5.3 percent and Nashville -5.1 percent.

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