Q2 Rents Post Second Steepest Drop in Five Years

A new analysis from Redfin reports more of the same: multifamily rents are falling – this time by the second steepest drop in five years. The steepest drop was in the first quarter of this year. The culprit is also the same: a flood of new apartments coming onto a market that is unable to absorb so many.

In 2Q 2024, the median rent for newly constructed apartments plunged 6.2% to $1,746 from the previous year, below their peak of $1,889 in 1Q 2022. The number of apartments completed rose 18.7% in 1Q 2024 to reach 98,260, the highest number in over a decade, Redfin said. Its analysis is based on Census Bureau data for newly constructed, unfurnished, unsubsidized, privately financed rental apartments in buildings with five or more units that were completed in the first quarter.

The influx of new construction is likely to push rents down even further this year, Redfin said. The result is that landlords are engaged in a fierce competition with reduced rents and other concessions as lures for new tenants. “If you’re a renter in a market like Dallas or Nashville, where construction has been booming, there are likely deals to be found,” said Redfin Senior Economist Sheharyar Bokhari. In Austin, rents for new and existing apartments plummeted 17.6% in August year-over-year.

By apartment size, rents for one-bedrooms fell 9% in the second quarter compared to the prior year to $1,566. Two bedrooms fell 4.5% to $1,934 and three bedrooms 3% to $2,309. The only size to show rent growth was for studios, which rose 0.9% to $1,617, likely because fewer are being built, the report said.