Rent Growth Slows for Fourth Consecutive Month in September—Slowest Rate Since August 2021

Redfin, the Seattle-based real estate brokerage firm, reported today (10-13-22) that the median US asking rent rose 9% year-over-year in September to $2,002 per month, the slowest growth since August 2021 and the first single-digit increase in a year. September was the fourth consecutive month in which annual rent growth decelerated, with rents climbing at half the pace they were six months earlier.

Adding additional background and his analysis, Redfin’s Deputy Chief Economist Taylor Marr, who also leads Redfin’s research team, said:

“The rental market is coming back down to earth because high rents and economic uncertainty have put an end to the pandemic moving frenzy of 2020 and 2021, when remote work fueled an enormous surge in housing demand that would’ve otherwise been spread out over the coming years. Rising supply is also causing rent growth to slow. Scores of apartments that have been under construction are now coming on the market, and more homeowners are choosing to become landlords instead of selling in order to hold on to their record-low mortgage rates.

We expect rent growth to slow further into 2023 as Americans continue to hunker down and more new rentals hit the market.”