A report from Realtor.com released today shows that the U.S. median rent dropped from May 2022, the first annual rent decline in at least three years, according to WKOW.
The national median rent in May was $1,739, up $3 from April but down 0.5% from May 2022.
Realtor.com began tracking year-over-year data in March 2020. Rents soared in 2021 and peaked in July 2022 at $1,777; they have gradually come down but remain nearly 25% higher than what they were in 2019.
The West and South regions of the U.S. recorded year-over-year May rent declines of 3% and 0.7%, respectively, but the Midwest and Northeast regions continue to see rents climb. The trend in the Midwest has been attributed to largely affordable cities and low unemployment.
Rents are expected to cool over the rest of this year and into the next. A surge in supply is expected with historic levels of multifamily housing construction underway.
