National rental market snapshot
Nationwide, rent prices rose 0.7% year over year in June to $1,654. This marks the third-straight month of increases after 11 months of decreases. Prices are now the highest they’ve been since 2022. Asking rents rose the fastest in more affordable metros, with Virginia Beach (+12.9%) and Cincinnati (+12.2%) leading the way.
However, rents actually fell in Florida’s largest metros. Jacksonville (-12.4%), Tampa (-6.0%), Orlando (-4.8%), and Miami (-3.8%) all posted declines, with Jacksonville and Tampa seeing record falls. Austin (-12.6%) saw the largest decrease out of the 33 metros analyzed, also a record.
Why are prices rising nationwide?
Apartment prices are closely tied to supply and demand. Tough homebuying conditions have kept many people in the rental market, especially young renters, which has helped boost demand and prices. Price growth is more pronounced in historically affordable Midwest metros, many of which underbuilt new apartments during the pandemic.
However, prices on the whole have risen slowly because a lot of new apartments that were built during the pandemic – many in popular migration hotspots – are hitting the market. Newly built apartments are also filling up at the slowest pace since 2020. New housing starts have also fallen below the 10-year average.
Why are prices falling in Florida and Austin?
Florida’s largest metros built a lot of apartments during the pandemic housing boom in an effort to meet the huge demand. However, as housing trends start to change and newly-completed buildings hit the market, property owners are having to compete for tenants.
Austin, which saw the largest price gains in June, is seeing similar but more pronounced trends. Austin actually issued more multifamily building permits from 2021-2023 than anywhere else in the country, i.e. the metro built a large number of new apartment buildings. Jacksonville came in third.
Another reason rent prices are falling may be because they rose too quickly during the pandemic. In Tampa, for example, rents rose 37.8% year over year in February 2022 – more than double the national trend at the time. This caused some residents to be priced out, lowering demand and prices. Rent prices in a few expensive coastal metros, like San Diego and San Francisco, are dropping for similar reasons.
Metro-level rental summary: June 2024
| U.S. metro area | Year-over-year change in median asking rent | Median asking rent |
| Austin, TX | -12.60% | $1,485 |
| Jacksonville, FL | -12.40% | $1,494 |
| San Diego, CA | -11.40% | $2,730 |
| San Francisco, CA | -6.10% | $2,737 |
| Tampa, FL | -6.00% | $1,750 |
| Orlando, FL | -4.80% | $1,780 |
| Seattle, WA | -4.60% | $2,094 |
| Nashville, TN | -4.20% | $1,602 |
| Phoenix, AZ | -4.10% | $1,539 |
| Los Angeles, CA | -3.90% | $2,796 |
| Miami, FL | -3.80% | $2,471 |
| Charlotte, NC | -3.40% | $1,520 |
| Portland, OR | -2.70% | $1,838 |
| Dallas, TX | -1.30% | $1,525 |
| Atlanta, GA | -0.90% | $1,580 |
| Denver, CO | -0.30% | $1,843 |
| Pittsburgh, PA | 0.50% | $1,510 |
| San Jose, CA | 0.90% | $3,290 |
| Riverside, CA | 1.70% | $2,323 |
| Philadelphia, PA | 1.80% | $1,950 |
| Detroit, MI | 2.20% | $1,405 |
| Sacramento, CA | 2.30% | $2,045 |
| Las Vegas, NV | 5.30% | $1,520 |
| New York, NY | 5.80% | $3,025 |
| Indianapolis, IN | 7.10% | $1,450 |
| Boston, MA | 7.60% | $2,873 |
| Houston, TX | 8.00% | $1,290 |
| Minneapolis, MN | 9.40% | $1,662 |
| Baltimore, MD | 10.70% | $1,650 |
| Chicago, IL | 11.30% | $1,778 |
| Washington, D.C. | 11.90% | $2,099 |
| Cincinnati, OH | 12.20% | $1,385 |
| Virginia Beach, VA | 12.90% | $1,615 |
Methodology
Data comes from a report published on Redfin, our parent company. Asking rent figures in this report cover newly listed units in buildings with five or more units. The median is calculated based on a rolling three-month period. For example, the median asking rent for June 2024 covers rentals that were listed on Rent. and Redfin during the three months ending June 30, 2024.
Metro-level data in this report covers 33 of the 50 most populous U.S. metropolitan areas. National figures are based on data for the entire U.S.
Asking rents reflect the current costs of new leases. In other words, the amount shown as the median asking rent is not the median of what all renters are paying, but the median asking price of apartments available for rent.
