Austin's median asking rent dropped 16% year over year in January to $1,399, marking the steepest decline among the 44 major U.S. metropolitan areas analyzed. The figure is now 22% ($400) below its record high of $1,799 set in August 2023, according to a report by Redfin.
Tampa recorded the second-largest decline at 8.2%, followed by Salt Lake City (-6.5%), Jacksonville (-6.4%), and New York (-5%). Redfin attributes the sharp rent declines in Texas and Florida to increased housing construction. Meanwhile, Florida has also faced concerns over intensifying natural disasters, deterring some residents.
Nationwide, the median U.S. asking rent was $1,599 in January, remaining nearly unchanged from a year earlier (-0.1%) but increasing 0.5% month over month. The median asking rent per square foot declined 1.5% year over year to $1.80 but rose 0.8% from the previous month.
Rent declines extended across all apartment types, with the largest drop seen in three-bedroom units, where the median asking rent fell 1.7% to $1,966. One-bedroom apartments declined 0.6% to $1,458, while two-bedroom units dropped 0.4% to $1,674.
Conversely, rents rose most in Cincinnati (15%), Providence (13%), Louisville (11%), Baltimore (10%), and Washington, D.C. (9%). In Los Angeles, where rental demand surged due to recent wildfires, the median asking rent for three-bedroom apartments increased 3.9% to $3,950. However, overall rents in the metro remained unchanged year over year at $2,780.
Redfin notes that national rent stabilization is largely due to apartment supply matching demand. However, the report warns that new tariffs on building materials and sustained demand from potential homebuyers priced out by high mortgage rates could push rents higher in the future.
