US Median Asking Rent Increases 0.4% Year-Over-Year in February

On Friday, Redfin reported that the median US asking rent rose 0.4% year-over-year to $1,607 in February. This is the first increase in six months and the biggest in nine months. Month-over-month, asking rents climbed 0.6%.

Redfin notes that although asking rents inched up in February, they’ve been relatively flat for the past 10 months compared to the large swings of the past few years. Rents skyrocketed as much as 18% year-over-year during the pandemic moving frenzy in 2021 and then fell as much as 4% in 2023. Asking rents are now flattening because rental supply and demand are near equilibrium.

The median asking rent for 0- to 1-bedroom apartments rose 0.4% year-over-year to $1,467—the first increase since June. The median asking rent for 2-bedroom apartments rose 0.6% to $1,689—also the first increase since June. The median asking rent for 3+ bedroom apartments fell 0.5% to $1,990, although that was the smallest decline in months.

Commenting on the report, Redfin Senior Economist Sheharyar Bokhari said:

“The era of big rent declines is over for most of the country. A ton of new apartments have hit the market, and demand for those apartments is strong because it’s so expensive to buy a home. But apartment construction is starting to slow, which means there may be more renters than apartments to go around as soon as next year. That could cause rents to tick up and the perks that many renters have grown accustomed to—like free parking—to disappear.”