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U.S. Asking Rents Rose 0.4% in February—A Small Increase, But the First in 6 Months

Women in Real Estate
Written by Posted On Sunday, 09 March 2025 06:50
U.S. Asking Rents Rose 0.4% in February—A Small Increase, But the First in 6 Months

Landlords may have more leeway to raise rents next year because apartment construction is slowing, which could eventually lead to more renters than vacant units

The median U.S. asking rent rose 0.4% year over year to $1,607 in February—the first increase in six months and the biggest in nine months. That’s according to a new report from Redfin (redfin.com), the technology-powered real estate brokerage. On a month-over-month basis, asking rents climbed 0.6%.

Though asking rents inched up in February, they’ve been relatively flat for the past 10 months compared to the large swings of the past few years. Rents skyrocketed as much as 18% year over year during the pandemic moving frenzy in 2021, and then fell as much as 4% in 2023. Asking rents are now flattening because rental supply and demand are near equilibrium.

“The era of big rent declines is over for most of the country,” said Redfin Senior Economist Sheharyar Bokhari. “A ton of new apartments have hit the market, and demand for those apartments is strong because it’s so expensive to buy a home. But apartment construction is starting to slow, which means there may be more renters than apartments to go around as soon as next year. That could cause rents to tick up and the perks that many renters have grown accustomed to—like free parking—to disappear.”

Asking rents drop most in Austin, rise most in Cincinnati

In Austin, TX, the median asking rent dropped 9.4% year over year in February to $1,404—the largest decline among the 44 major U.S. metropolitan areas Redfin analyzed. It’s now 22% below its August 2023 record high.

Salt Lake City was home to the second largest decline (-7.8%), followed by Jacksonville, FL (-6.7%), Minneapolis (-5.9%) and San Diego (-5.6%).

Asking rents have been falling quickly in parts of Texas and Florida because those states have been building more housing than other states. Florida has also been grappling with intensifying natural disasters, which has made some people hesitant to live there.

Rents rose most in Cincinnati (15.3%), Providence, RI (12.4%), Baltimore (9.6%), Washington, D.C. (9.2%) and Cleveland (8.5%).

Asking rents tick up for smaller apartments, but tick down for larger apartments

The median asking rent for 0-1 bedroom apartments rose 0.4% year over year to $1,467—the first increase since June. The median asking rent for 2 bedroom apartments rose 0.6% to $1,689—also the first increase since June.

The median asking rent for 3+ bedroom apartments fell 0.5% to $1,990, though that was the smallest decline in months.

To view the full report, including charts and methodology, please visit:
https://www.redfin.com/news/rental-tracker-february-2025

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Redfin

Redfin is a technology-driven real estate company with the country's most-visited real estate brokerage website. As part of Rocket Companies (NYSE: RKT), Redfin is creating an integrated homeownership platform from search to close to make the dream of homeownership more affordable and accessible for everyone. Redfin’s clients can see homes first with on-demand tours, easily apply for a home loan with Rocket Mortgage, and save thousands in fees while working with a top local agent. You can find more information about Redfin and get the latest housing market data and research at Redfin.com/news. For more information about Rocket Companies, visit RocketCompanies.com.

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