Apartment List National Rent: 2023

Developments

December 2023

The rental market closed out 2023 with a fifth straight month of negative rent growth, as the nationwide median rent fell by 0.8 percent to $1,379.1 The recent declines are in line with the rental market’s typical seasonal pattern, as fewer renters are looking to move at this time of year, although this year’s dip has been a bit sharper than what we normally see.

• Rents are down 0.8% month-over-month, down 1% year-over-year
• On a year-over-year basis, rents nationally are down 1 percent. Year-over-year rent growth fell to zero in June for the first time since the early stages of the pandemic, and has now been in negative territory for seven consecutive months.
• On the supply side of the market, our national vacancy index stands at 6.5 percent, slightly higher than the pre-pandemic average. This represents the culmination of vacancies gradually easing for two full years after a historic tightening in 2021.
• Regionally, rents fell in December in 83 of the nation’s 100 largest cities, and prices are down year-over-year in 60 of these 100 cities

November 2023

The rental market’s seasonal slowdown continued this month, with the nationwide median rent falling 0.9 percent to $1,340. This marks the fourth consecutive month of negative rent growth, and low apartment demand during the winter holiday season will likely continue to push rents down for another month or two.

• Rents are down 0.9% month-over-month, down 1.1% year-over-year
• Year-to-date, rents are up just 0.2 percent and trending slower than every previous year measured by our index, aside from 2020.
• On the supply side of the market, our national vacancy index stands at 6.4 percent, slightly higher than the pre-pandemic average.
• Rents down month-over-month in 89 of 100 largest cities, down year-over-year in 68

October 2023

The seasonal slowdown in the rental market continued this month, with the nationwide median rent falling by 0.7 percent to $1,354. This marks the third consecutive month of negative rent growth, and declines are likely to persist in the coming months as we head into the winter.

• Rents are down 0.7% month-over-month, down 1.2% year-over-year
• Year-to-date, rents are up 1.2 percent and trending slower than every previous year measured by our index, aside from 2020. Setting aside the rapid inflation period of 2021 to 2022, rent growth from January through October averaged 3.5 percent during the steady-state years of 2017 to 2019, nearly triple the increase we’ve seen this year.
• On the supply side of the market, our national vacancy index currently stands at 6.4 percent, slightly higher than the pre-pandemic average. This represents the culmination of vacancies gradually easing for two full years after a historic tightening in 2021. And with the construction pipeline of new apartments still near record levels, we expect that there will continue to be an abundance of vacant units on the market in the year ahead.
• Rents down month-over-month in 81 of 100 largest cities, down year-over-year in 65

September 2023

Annual rent growth remains at -1.2 percent, meaning that on average, apartments across the country are 1.2 percent cheaper today than they were one year ago. This is a major deceleration from recent years, when annual rent growth neared 18 percent nationally and soared to over 40 percent in a handful of popular cities.

• Rents are down 0.5% month-over-month, down 1.2% year-over-year
• Year-to-date, rents are up 2.1 percent and trending slower than every previous year measured by our index, aside from 2020.
• Apartment vacancies have increased for 23 consecutive months, and in September the index hit 6.4 percent, reaching pre-pandemic levels and approaching the pandemic peak set in 2020.
• Rents down month-over-month in 85 of 100 largest cities, down year-over-year in 71

August 2023

Annual rent growth turned negative last month, for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic. Today it stands at -1.2 percent, meaning that on average, apartments across the country are 1.2 percent cheaper today than they were one year ago. This is a major deceleration from recent years, when annual rent growth neared 18 percent nationally and soared to over 40 percent in a handful of popular cities.

• Rents are down 0.1% month-over-month, 1.2% year-over-year
• Seasonal trends suggest that monthly rent growth will continue to slow for the remainder of the year, and it’s possible that annual rent growth will sink further into negative territory in the months ahead.
• Year-to-date, rents are up 2.5 percent and trending slower than every previous year measured by our index, aside from 2020. Rent growth from January through August averaged 4.3 percent during the steady-state years of 2017-2019 and then averaged 11.0 percent during the rapid inflationary period of 2021-2022.

• Our vacancy index has increased for 22 consecutive months and now sits at 6.4 percent, slightly above the pre-pandemic average.

• On a local level, rents fell month-over-month in August in 53 of the nation’s 100 largest cities, but thanks to sluggish rent growth throughout the past 12 months, prices are down year-over-year in 72 of these 100 cities.

July 2023

July is peak moving season and a month where we typically measure some of the fastest rent growth each calendar year. In pre-pandemic years, July rent growth averaged 0.6 percent. But in 2023, July rent growth came in at just 0.3 percent and is trending down for the season. This stagnation indicates that the market cooldown that started in the second half of 2022 is continuing, even as prices rise modestly month-over-month.

• Rents nationally are up 0.3% month-over-month, but are down 0.7% year-over-year.
• Rents increased modestly in July in 71 of the nation’s 100 largest cities, but thanks to sluggish rent growth throughout the past 12 months, prices are down year-over-year in 67 of these 100 cities.
• Year-to-date, rents are up by a total of 2.6 percent and are trending slower than every previous year measured by our index, aside from 2020. From 2017 to 2019, rent growth from January through July averaged 4.3 percent, and during the rapid inflationary period of 2021 and 2022 it averaged 9.4 percent.
• In 2022, our vacancy index inched up an average of 14 basis points per month, but so far in 2023 the average increase has been 20 basis points per month. In July, the vacancy rate reached 7.3 percent, surpassing for the first time the pandemic peak set in July 2020. This easing has shown no signs of slowing, and with a record number of multi-family apartment units currently under construction, this vacancy rate will remain elevated in the near future.