According to a new study from Rent., after nearly two years of constant rent growth, the national median rent price was less in May than it was a year ago. The -0.57% drop in yearly prices marked the first time prices went negative since March 2020.
Yearly rent growth has been decelerating for nine months now, registering single-digit growth in each survey period since September 2022 after nearly a year of double-digit increases from October 2021 through August 2022. Since September, yearly growth has slowed from just under 9% to last month’s 0.30% rise—the smallest increase in 37 months. Over the last nine months, yearly increases have averaged 4.32% and have remained below 2.5% in each of the last five months. Yearly changes peaked at more than 17.5% in March 2022.
Monthly rent changes likewise changed directions in May, rising 1.44% since April. Short-term changes have been negative in six of the last nine months since rents peaked in August 2022 and have averaged -0.31% over that time. May’s increase was less than the last recorded monthly increase of 1.77% in March but larger than the 1.23% increase recorded in November 2022.
The national median rent is now $1,995, an increase of $28 over April’s price. Rents peaked in August of 2022 at $2,053 and are down -1.38% since then. Rents reached as low as $1,937 in February 2023, a -5.65% change from August’s peak. Over a two-year period, rents remain elevated, rising 15.79% since May 2021 while adding over $270 to monthly rent bills.
The reversal in monthly price changes may foretell a return to increasing prices as the typical high season for rent renewals and new leases kicks into full swing. Broad trends across the rental industry, including new inventory and demand below seasonal norms, have dri …
