The median asking price for rental housing was $1,995 in May, a 0.6% year-over-year decline, according to new data from Redfin (NASDAQ:RDFN). This marked the largest annual decline since March 2020, the first annual decline since March 2020 and a significant shift from near-record 16.5% increase one year earlier. However, the median asking rent was also up by 1.4% from April.
However, this decline was fueled primarily from one region. Asking rents in the West were down 2.1% to $2.049 from one year earlier, which is nearly four times the national pace. But annual rents were up by 5.4% to $2,495 in the Northeast, up 4.9% to $1,406 in the Midwest and up 0.8% to $1,663 in the South.
Redfin attributed May’s data to an increase in multifamily housing –completed residential projects in buildings with five or more units rose 24.2% year-over-year on a seasonally-adjusted basis to 400,000 in April and the rental vacancy rate was 6.4% in the first quarter to its highest level in two years. In comparison, home sales have been stymied by many property owners who are unwilling to move while mortgage rates are elevated and available residences to buy are limited.
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