Seven Major Metros Where Rents Are Flat or Falling This Summer
- July 2025 Rent Growth: National rent growth slowed to 2.6% year over year, down from 2.9 in June. Single-family rents were 3.4% higher than a year ago, while multifamily rents increased 2.1% during that same period.
- July 2025 Rental Affordability: The typical new renter now spends 29.9% of their household income on rent.The pre-pandemic average was 28.1%. The income needed to comfortably afford rent is now $82,873, up from $61,472 since the pandemic.
- Where Rents are Flat or Falling: The number of large metro areas with annual rent declines or no growth nearly doubled from June. Year-over-year rents fell in Phoenix, San Antonio, Denver and Austin; annual rent growth is roughly flat in Dallas, Las Vegas and Orlando.
Typical asking rents increased 0.1% in July, dropping the annual rent increase to 2.6%, a downshift from the 2.9% observed in June. The typical U.S. asking rent is now $2,072.
Rents increased from June to July in 32 of the largest 50 metros, with New York, Hartford and Richmond showing the highest monthly increases. Meanwhile, rents fell the most on a monthly basis in Austin, Memphis and New Orleans.
Compared to a year earlier, however, rents declined or were flat in nearly twice as many metros in July as in June. Rents continued to fall from last year in Phoenix, San Antonio, Denver and Austin; while annual rent growth in Dallas, Las Vegas and Orlando is barely perceptible, below 0.5%.
While increases in both multifamily and single-family rents continue to moderate, the slowdown is more pronounced for multifamily units. Multifamily rents increased 0.09%, downshifting from the 0.25% advance in June. Single-family rents increased 0.15% in July, a downshift from 0.24% in June.
What’s behind the cooling rents?
First, more multifamily housing units are still coming on the rental market. Zillow expects multifamily completions to peak this year. At the same time, an increase in housing supply in the for-sale market has pushed vacancy rates higher, giving both potential home buyers and renters more bargaining power.
While renters have more options now compared to last year, increased supply is not the only cause for a softening rental market. A soft labor market with low hiring rates and job-to-job mobility is another likely culprit for slower-than-expected rental demand for this time of year.
As a result, landlords are doing what they can to get lease renewals, which means more tenants are staying put. At the same time, those with vacancies are increasing incentives to attract new tenants. Last month, 36% of rentals listed on Zillow had a concession – the highest level on record for July. That share is up from 35% in June and almost three times what it was in July 2019.
The silver lining for property managers is that rental demand is generally more resilient than buyer demand in times of economic uncertainty. Rentals provide relatively better affordability and a lower upfront financial commitment. With builders already pulling back and less supply expected next year, this year’s softer rental market may be relatively short-lived.
Rents
- The typical asking rent is $2,072 in July, up 0.1% month over month. The pre-pandemic average month-over-month change for this time of year is 0.4%.
- Rents are now up 2.6% from last year.
- Since the beginning of the pandemic, rents have increased by 36.3%.
- Rents fell, on a monthly basis, in 18 major metro areas. The largest monthly drops are in Austin (-0.6%), Memphis (-0.3%), New Orleans (-0.3%), Providence (-0.3%), and Boston (-0.2%).
- Rents are up from year-ago levels in 46 of the 50 largest metro areas. Annual rent increases are highest in Chicago (6.1%), Providence (5.2%), Hartford (4.9%), San Francisco (4.9%), and New York (4.8%).
Single-Family Rents
- The typical asking rent for single-family homes is $2,328 in July, up 0.2% month over month.
- Single-family rents are now up 3.4% from last year.
- Since the beginning of the pandemic, single-family rents have increased by 43.6%.
- Single-family rents fell, on a monthly basis, in 10 major metro areas. The largest monthly drops in single-family rents are in Los Angeles (-0.2%), Boston (-0.2%), Austin (-0.2%), Providence (-0.2%), and Dallas (-0.1%).
- Single-family rents are up from year-ago levels in 49 of the 50 largest metro areas. Annual single-family rent increases are highest in Providence (7%), Indianapolis (6.2%), Chicago (6%), Kansas City (5.6%), and Milwaukee (5.4%).
Multifamily Rents
- The typical asking rent for multifamily homes is $1,889 in July, up 0.1% month over month.
- Multifamily rents are now up 2.1% from last year.
- Since the beginning of the pandemic, multifamily rents have increased by 29.7%.
- Multifamily rents fell, on a monthly basis, in 22 major metro areas. The largest monthly drops in multifamily rents are in Memphis (-0.7%), Birmingham (-0.7%), New Orleans (-0.6%), Austin (-0.6%), and Orlando (-0.5%).
- Multifamily rents are up from year-ago levels in 39 of the 50 largest metro areas. Annual multifamily rent increases are highest in Chicago (6%), San Francisco (5%), Providence (4.9%), Hartford (4.9%), and New York (4.7%).
Rent Concessions
- 36.0% of rentals on Zillow offered concessions in July.
- The share of rental listings offering concessions increased by 0.7ppts month over month in July.
- The share of rental listings offering concessions increased by 2.9ppts from last year.
- The share of rentals with concessions is lower, on a monthly basis, in 15 major metro areas. The largest monthly drops in the share of rentals with concessions are in St. Louis (-2.5ppts), Buffalo (-2.1ppts), Raleigh (-1.5ppts), Atlanta (-1.3ppts), and Pittsburgh (-1ppts).
- The share of rentals with concessions is higher, on a monthly basis, in 35 major metro areas. The largest monthly increases in the share of rentals with concessions are in Birmingham (5.3ppts), Providence (3.2ppts), Louisville (3.1ppts), Kansas City (2.8ppts), and Indianapolis (2.8ppts).
- Rent concessions are up from year-ago levels in 36 of the 50 largest metro areas. The annual increase in share of rental listings with concessions is highest in Denver (14.2ppts), Houston (11.9ppts), Memphis (11.1ppts), Orlando (11.1ppts), and Dallas (10ppts).
Rent Affordability
- The median household would spend 29.9% of their income on a new rental in July.
- Rent affordability decreased by 0.1% month over month in July. The pre-pandemic share of median household income spent on rent was 28.1%.
- Rent affordability is now down 0.3% from last year.
- The most affordable metro areas for rents are Austin (19.7%), Minneapolis (20.2%), St. Louis (20.8%), Raleigh (20.8%), and Salt Lake City (20.8%).
- The least affordable metro areas for rents are New York (42.4%), Miami (40.0%), Los Angeles (36.7%), San Diego (33.3%), and Tampa (33.1%).
- Income needed to afford rent increased by 2.8% year over year in July to $82,873. Since pre-pandemic, the income needed to afford rent has increased by 34.8%.
Rental Vacancy Rate (Quarterly Data)
- Non-seasonally adjusted rental vacancy rate was 7.0% in June. The pre-pandemic average vacancy rate for this time of year was 6.6%.
- The rental vacancy rate is now 0.4ppts up from last year.
- Rental vacancy rates are lower, on a quarterly basis, in 23 major metro areas. The largest quarterly drops in the rental vacancy are in Kansas City (-7.6ppts), Oklahoma City (-5.6ppts), Cincinnati (-4.8ppts), Sacramento (-3.6ppts), and Detroit (-3.2ppts).
- Rental vacancy rates are higher, on a quarterly basis, in 26 major metro areas. The largest quarterly increases in the rental vacancy are in Buffalo (10.1ppts), Orlando (8ppts), Raleigh (6.9ppts), Birmingham (5.8ppts), and Virginia Beach (5.1ppts).
- Rental vacancy rates are up from year-ago levels in 26 of the 50 largest metro areas. Rental vacancy rates are highest in Birmingham (18.1%), Buffalo (17.8%), Memphis (14.0%), Orlando (13.2%), and Raleigh (12.7%).