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Top 10 Metros Where Rent Prices Are Dropping the Most Year-Over-Year

May 16, 2024

3 min Read

Written by David Nadelle

Edited by Maria Concepcion

Sean Pavone / Getty Images/iStockphoto

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Despite increasing $14 from February to March 2024, the median asking rent for 0-2 bedroom properties in the U.S. has decreased year-over-year for the eighth month straight, with March prices down 0.3%, or $5.

According to Realtor.com’s March 2024 Rental Report of the top 50 metropolitan areas in the U.S., rents declined across all property sizes, with the median asking price clocked at $1,722. Studios ($1,435) were down -1.4%, or $21 year-over-year, one-bedrooms ($1,602) decreased by $2 (-0.1%) and two-bedroom accommodations ($1,908) fell by $10 (-0.5%).

Rent rates differ from region to region, with Southern and Midwestern cities seeing the biggest median decreases. “There is some good news for renters with prices falling in many parts of the country, especially outside expensive metro markets in the West and Northeast, said Danielle Hale, Chief Economist at Realtor.com.

“However, we expect cost pressures to continue as interest rates remain high and would-be buyers opt to rent instead and keep demand high,” Hale added. “New housing construction is needed, especially in major markets in the Northeast and West, to alleviate the home supply shortage. Softer rents in the South are evidence that more supply helps tame rising costs.”

According to the report, rents held steady overall in the Midwest (0.0%), which is among the most affordable parts of the country due to lower unemployment, which keeps rental demand strong. However, rents grew in some big cities like Chicago, IL ($1,846), which saw an increase of 4.3% from a year ago. Indianapolis, IN ($1,297), and Kansas City, MO-KS ($1,340) also saw 3.5% and 3.1% increases, respectively.

Meanwhile, the South has seen a lot of new construction coming to market, helping the supply side. The median asking rent fell by 1.5% from a year ago and a handful of southern metros experienced impressive median declines. Austin, Memphis, St. Louis, Atlanta and Florida had the biggest drops among all 50 metros analyzed.

Rents continue to rise in big Western and Northeastern metros such as Los Angeles and San Diego (up 1.6% and 2.9%, respectively), including New York (up 3.8%) and Boston (up 3.3%). In these dense areas, labor markets are strong, and it is very difficult to increase supply, causing competition among renters and rents to escalate.

Here are the top 10 metros in the U.S. where rent prices have dropped the most year-over-year in March.