Median rents on studios to two-bedroom units fell in May from a year earlie🍎r, their first annual decline since 2020. 

The median asking rent in the 50 largest metros was d🍎own $38 from its July 2022 peak, and up $3 from April.

From the same month in 2019, median rents were 24.7% higher.

Rents in the Northeast have continued to grow year-over-year, gaining 6.8% in New York, 3.8% in Pittsburgh, and 3.3% in Boston in May from a year earlier. Rent𝓰s in the Midwest are up🏅 4.5% although rent growth is slowing, according to a monthly Realtor.com report. 

Amid an exodus from many Western cities to more affordable locales in 🍌the Sun Belt, rents fell 3% year-over-year in the 🌊West. And despite growth in Southern markets, rents fell 0.7% year-over-year. 

🌠The metros with the biggest annual declines were Austin, which experienced a 5.6% drop, and Tampa, where rents fell 4%. Rents in Dallas and Charlotte fell 3.6% and 3.5%, respectively.

According to a report from the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University, asking rents in the professionally managed apartment sector have moderated after rising 15.3% year-over-year in the first quarter of 2022, an all-time high since the group began tracking the data more than 20 years ago.

By the first quarter of this year, rent growth had slowed to 4.5% annually, just above the 3.6% average annual grow🅘th from 2015 to 2019.  

And Realtor.com’s experts expect the declines to continue. The group estimates that m𝔍edian asking rents will see an annual decline of 0.9% in 2023. 

Would-Be Hom🌜ebuyers Priced Out of Market Turn to Rentals

The news is encouraging for renters who have suddenly found themselves in a more competitive rental market thanks to high interest rates 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:pushing would-be homebuyers into r🐽entals. While new single-family construction is picking up to meet demand, multifamily units have become a temporary option for those waiting for market conditions to improve. 

Rents reflect the demand. While the☂ price of a two-bedroom unit has declined, rent for studio apartments and one-bedroom units is still rising. Median studio rent was 2% higher in May than the year prior, boosted by renters seeking affordabi♎lity. The cost of a 1 bedroom rose 0.4% in the same period.

And just as home affordability and remote work have led many Americans to consider 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:larger, cross-country moves, it could encourage r✱esidential mobility at a renter level. 

“The decline in rent prices may also be seen as a wake-up call for renters who have desired to explore regions abundant with job opportunities but have been hesitant to do so due to the excessively high move-in rental costs,” said Realtor.com researchers.