Renters Can Get More Space for Their Money Now Than in 2022 — Here’s Why
Written by
Vance Cariaga
Edited by
Angela Corry
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Although rental prices remain historically high, they have stabilized over the past couple of years. RentCafe estimates that the average U.S. rent was $1,748 a month as of November 2024 – about the same as two years earlier. Better yet, renters today get more space for the same amount of money than they used to, according to new research from Redfin.
Redfin found that on average, U.S. renters with a $2,000 monthly budget currently can afford a 1,103-square-foot apartment. That’s up from 1,029 square feet when rents peaked in 2022. Researchers based the finding on the median U.S. apartment asking rent in October 2024, which was $1,615 a month, or $1.81 per square foot. In contrast, the median asking rent peaked at $1,700 in August 2022, when the typical apartment was listed at an all-time high of $1.94 per square foot.
The main reason renters get a better deal today is because of a recent apartment building boom that has increased inventory and slowed the steep rate hikes that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Renters are getting more bang for their buck than they were during the pandemic because asking rents have since stabilized below their record high and incomes have continued to climb,” Redfin Senior Economist Sheharyar Bokhari said in a Dec. 10 press release. “Rental affordability has improved thanks to the recent apartment construction boom, especially in Sun Belt states. That trend is likely to continue into 2025, as there are a lot of still-to-be-finished apartment buildings due to come online.”
According to a separate report from Zillow, renters were able to “claim all sorts of concessions in 2024” as new multi-family rental construction hit a 50-year high. However, Zillow expects new rental construction during the first half of 2025 to decline by 21% from the previous year and “drop even further” during the latter half of 2025. This could make it harder for renters to negotiate deals.
As usual, location will play a big role in how much tenants can expect to pay for certain types of rentals. As Redfin noted, a renter on a $2,000 budget in Memphis, Tennessee can get 1,000 more square feet than a renter in San Jose, California, on the same budget. In more than half of the metro areas analyzed by Redfin, a renter on a $2,000-a-month budget can afford an apartment larger than 1,000 square feet
Renters get the most value in Memphis, where $2,000 is enough to afford a 1,570-square-foot apartment on average. Next on the list are Birmingham, Alabama (an average of 1,523 square feet for $2,000); Louisville, Kentucky (1,479 square feet); St. Louis (1,388 square feet); and Houston (1,380 square feet).
The most expensive rental market is San Jose, where a $2,000 monthly budget only gets you 537 square feet on average. Rounding out the top five most expensive markets are San Francisco (565 square feet on a $2,000 budget), New York City (581 square feet), Los Angeles (591 square feet) and San Diego (602 square feet).
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