The median asking monthly rent in the nation’s 50 largest metros dropped by 0.5% year-over-year last month to $1,739, according to new data from Realtor.com, which added that while rent prices increased nationwide by $3 from April, they were still down $38 from the July 2022 peak.
Realtor.com’s 2023 Forecast Update predicted that rents will continue to drop, averaging -0.9% from 2022. However, they remain $344 higher than the same time in pre-pandemic 2019, a 24.7% increase.
Realtor.com determined that rent prices in the expensive West saw the largest year-over-year declines (-3.0%), with the South close behind (-1.0%). More affordable Midwestern markets continued to increase (4.5%), but at a much slower pace than in previous months while rents in the Northeast have stayed relatively strong due to high demand and limited supply.
“In May, we saw the first year-over-year decline in rents, a sea-change from the double-digit growth that renters contended with in much of 2021 and 2022,” said Realtor.com Chief Economist Danielle Hale. “This is yet another sign that rental-driven inflation is likely behind us, even though we may not see this trend in official measures until next year. Although still modest, a decline in rents combined with cooling inflation and a still-strong job market is definitely welcome news for households – [but] despite the decline in typical asking rents, households who may not have moved in several years are likely to see their rent increase if they’re looking for a new home.”
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