US Median Asking Rent Trends Lower Year-Over-Year in March

On Monday, Redfin reported the median US asking rent fell 0.6% year-over-year to $1,610 in March but rose 0.4% month-over-month.

Asking rents have stabilized below their 2022 record high of $1,705. March marked the 13th-straight month in which asking rents barely decreased or increased (i.e., a year-over-year change of less than 1%).

Redfin notes that during the pandemic moving frenzy, rents skyrocketed because there weren’t enough apartments to meet surging demand. Builders then ramped up construction, which caused rents to fall in 2023 and early 2024 because landlords were competing for tenants. There are still a lot of newly built apartments coming on the market, which is keeping rent growth at bay. But renter demand is strong due to high homebuying costs, which means rent declines are also limited—for now.

However, apartment construction is slowing, which will likely motivate landlords to raise rents because there won’t be as much supply, meaning they won’t be competing as fiercely for tenants, Redfin said.

Commenting on the report, Redfin Economics Research Lead Chen Zhao said:

“America gets a lot of building materials from other countries, so tariffs will make building apartments more expensive. That could further hamper apartment supply, causing rents to jump. Tariffs could also drive up rents by increasing demand. People may opt to rent instead of buy homes because the turmoil around tariffs has fueled widespread economic uncertainty. Tariffs have already caused huge swings in the stock market, and they will lead to higher prices for many goods and services, along with increased unemployment.”