Austin had the largest decline in median asking rent of 44 major U.S. metros analyzed by Redfin in January. The Texas city saw rents sink 16% year over year to $1,299 last month, putting the market at 22.2%, or $400, below its August 2023 record high median rent of $1,799, according to Redfin.
Asking rents are falling quickly in some Texas and Florida markets where an abundance of construction is increasing competition for tenants. Florida also is grappling with intensifying natural disasters, which has made some people hesitant to live there, said Redfin. Rents in Tampa and Jacksonville fell 8.2% and 6.4% respectively.
Other markets where rents fell sharply were Salt Lake City, which dropped 6.5%, and New York, where rents fell by 5%. Meanwhile, Cincinnati saw a sharp increase in median rents at 15%, followed by Providence, Rhode Island, at 13.4%, Louisville, Kentucky, at 10.5%, Baltimore at 10.2% and Washington, D.C., at 8.8%.
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Nationwide, median asking rent was stable year over year, showing just a 0.1% decrease to $1,599. Asking rent per foot fell 1.5% year over year in January to $1.80 and rose 0.8% month over month. Redfin said rents may begin to inch up if demand outstrips supply as apartment construction slows and home buying costs remain elevated.
“Rental supply and demand are in lockstep, which is keeping rent growth at bay, but that may not last long,” said Redfin senior economist Sheharyar Bokhari. “Apartment construction could be further hampered by new tariffs on building materials.”
Apartments of all bedroom counts experienced median rent decreases for the seventh month in a row. Median asking prices for a three-plus-bedroom apartment dropped 1.7% year over year to $1,966. Rents for zero to one-bedroom apartments fell 0.6% to $1,458, and for two-bedroom apartments, rents fell 0.4% to $1,674.
Four of the five most expensive rental markets in January were in California, including San Jose at $3,184, Los Angeles at $2,780, San Francisco at $2,695 and San Diego at $2,693. New York ranked second at $2,827.
The most affordable markets were Memphis at $1,204, Houston at $1,235, St. Louis at $1,236, Louisville, Kentucky, at $1,249, and Buffalo at $1,285.
Redfin is watching reports of rental price gouging in Los Angeles as the area recovers from devastating wildfires that displaced families, increasing demand for rentals. While the median asking rent in the area was flat year over year, the median asking rent for three-plus bedroom apartments in Los Angeles rose 3.9% year over year to $3,950, the largest increase since November 2023. Asking rents for zero to one-bedroom apartments rose 0.6% and for two-bedroom apartments rose 0.8%.
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Kristen Smithberg
Kristen Smithberg is a Colorado-based freelance writer who covers commercial real estate, insurance, benefits and retirement topics for BenefitsPRO and other industry publications.
