Following typical season rent cuts to close out 2024, apartment rents grew at nearly a normal rate in January. Rent growth remained below long-term norms, but the marginal growth signaled that the most severe rent cuts are behind us, according to a RealPage report.

Market rate apartment rents grew 0.16% in January, slightly below the long-term norm for January of 0.24% growth between 2015 and 2024. The eight basis point change is within a rounding difference, which suggests rent change will continue to look more regular by historical standards this year, said the report.

Two U.S. regions contributed stronger than long-term average rent growth, both of which have lower supply. Rents in the Midwest grew by 0.31% and in the Northeast grew by 0.24%. Detroit, Chicago and Kansas City continued to report the highest apartment rent growth among large markets, all ranging from 3.5% to 4% growth for the year ending in January 2025.