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Why now is a great time to be a renter - particularly in Sun Belt cities
Now is a good time to be a renter, as monthly costs fall and property managers offer discounts as the market begins to cool.
And it is a particularly good time to be a renter in Sun Belt cities, which are seeing the steepest decrease in monthly costs.
Austin, Texas, and Jacksonville, Florida, saw average rents fall the most in the country last month, according to new data from Redfin.
Texas and Florida have built a huge number of apartments since the pandemic, which means supply is now outweighing demand and making it a good time for residents to find a deal.
It comes as separate data from Zillow shows more than half of rentals in cities such as Raleigh, Charlotte, Atlanta and Austin are offering concessions such as free weeks of rent to lure people in.
Now is a good time to be a renter, as monthly costs fall and property managers offer discounts as the market begins to cool
The median asking rent in Austin fell 16.9 percent in the year to July, according to Redfin, which was the biggest decrease of any metro area in the US.
Average rents in Jacksonville, meanwhile, fell 14.3 percent year-on-year.
In San Diego, rents fell 12.7 percent, and in San Francisco rents were down 7.6 percent.
Tampa rounded out the five metros with the biggest drops in asking rents - down 5.9 percent.
Nationwide, the median asking rent was $1,647 in July, down $53 from the all-time high in 2022.
Average rent fell across all bedroom counts in the year to July, Redfin found, which is the first time that has occurred since June 2020.
This means that renters are paying less for apartments with one, two, three or more bedrooms across the US than they were a year ago.
Rentals with more than three bedrooms fell 2.4 percent in monthly costs to an average of $2,010 - the biggest decrease of any apartment size.
An increased supply of apartments with three or more bedrooms led to prices falling faster in July, as there was lower demand for larger, more expensive units which also compete with single-family home rentals, Redfin found.
'Rents have recently steadied - or even dropped slightly - because of the sheer number of apartments built over the past two years,' said Redfin senior economist Sheharyar Bokhari.
'Construction is slowing down and prices will eventually start rising again, but now is still a good time for renters to find a deal, especially families looking for an apartment with at least three bedrooms.'
Separate data from Zillow shows how the post-pandemic construction frenzy continues to help soften rent growth.
More new multifamily units were completed in June than in any month since the 1970s.
The median asking rent in Austin fell 16.9 percent in the year to July, according to Redfin, which was the biggest decrease of any metro area in the US
Average rents in Jacksonville, Florida, fell 14.3 percent year-on-year, as a result of a construction boom in the state
'Rents have recently steadied - or even dropped slightly - because of the sheer number of apartments built over the past two years,' said Redfin senior economist Sheharyar Bokhari
The share of rental listings on Zillow offering a concession - a sweetener such as free weeks of rent or free parking - climbed to 33.2 percent in July.
That is up from 25.4 percent a year earlier.
The research found that in six major metro areas, more than half of rentals are offering a concession to prospective tenants.
Again, the majority of these cities are in America's Sun Belt.
Raleigh and Charlotte, North Carolina, top the list where concessions are offered in 53.3 percent and 53 percent of rentals, respectively.
In Atlanta, Georgia, 52.2 percent of rental properties are offering some kind of concession, compared to 50.9 percent in Salt Lake City, Utah, 50.8 percent in Nashville, Tennessee, and 50.5 percent in Austin, Texas.
'Now is a great time for renters to find a deal, with more new apartments hitting the market than at any time in the past several decades,' said Zillow chief economist Skylar Olsen.
'Rents are still growing, but it's a far cry from the steep rent hikes of two or three years ago, and renters will find sweeteners being offered by more than half of rentals in some places.
'A slowing job market and lower mortgage rates could mean falling rents if the current trends hold.'