Rental Market Trends October 2025: A Complete National Rent Study

U.S. Rent Prices Cool Off Unevenly as Local Markets Change

In October 2025, rental prices in the U.S. followed a complicated pattern of stabilizing, slowly dropping, and tightening in some areas. As demand changes because of fewer people moving, changing household formation, and the long-term effects of high interest rates, we see an increasingly divided rental market. This is because of hyper-local factors rather than broad national trends.

We look at these trends using new nationwide indicators, supply data, and local performance signals to give you a better idea of what’s going on than just rent indexes.

National Median Rent Levels: Stable with Some Volatility

The national median rent for all types of properties stayed the same through October because demand was slowing down and there were more properties available. In Sun Belt metros, multifamily construction added a lot of units, but in high-cost coastal markets, supply was tighter.

Key factors are:

Slowed household formation because people couldn’t afford to buy homes.
High mortgage rates that keep some renters in their homes longer.
More units available in newly built corridors, especially Class A units.
Seasonal cooling that naturally lowers demand starting in September.

These factors kept month-to-month rent changes small, but year-to-year comparisons still show that prices are different in areas with a lot of supply and areas with a little supply.

Year-Over-Year Rent Trends Show That Regions Are Splitting Up

The Sun Belt Markets Are the Most Weakening Each Year

Cities like Phoenix, Austin, Tampa, and Atlanta saw the biggest drops in rent over the course of a year. This was because of a lot of new construction that added thousands of units. Depending on how many homes were available in each submarket, rents fell between 1% and 5% each year.

The Midwest and Northeast Keep Getting Stronger

Cleveland, Cincinnati, Boston, and northern New Jersey are markets where new development is limited. They continued to see small annual increases of 2% to 4%, thanks to:

Limited supply
Strong job markets
Few chances to develop land

These areas are tough and aren’t affected by the cooling that is happening in other places.

Western Markets Are Mixed but Getting Better

There weren’t many changes in rent in Seattle, Portland, and the Bay Area from one year to the next. After years of prices going up and down, vacancy rates are returning to normal, and moderate stabilization has returned.

Single-Family Rentals: High Mortgage Rates Keep Demand Strong

There is still a lot of demand for single-family rentals across the country. High borrowing costs are still keeping people from buying homes, which keeps occupancy rates high and allows rents to rise slowly, especially in suburban areas with good school districts.

Important things to note:

Higher retention rates because renters stay longer.
Sustained competition for detached homes in family-friendly suburbs.
Limited inventory compared to multifamily supply levels.

Single-family rents are slowly going up because the housing stock doesn’t match what people want.

Multifamily Sector: New Deliveries Slow Rent Growth

The multifamily sector cooled off the most in the country because there were so many new Class A units.

Why Rents for Multifamily Homes Are Going Down

In many areas, new supply peaked in the third and fourth quarters.
Concessions went up, especially for luxury properties.
Lease-up pressure put temporary downward pressure on asking rents.

A lot of properties are offering:

One to two months free
Lower fees for amenities
Lower parking rates
Flexible lease terms

These incentives lower rent levels without lowering the prices that are listed.

Vacancy Rates: Different Patterns by Region and Property Type

The national vacancy rate went up a little bit, but it’s still much lower than it was before 2020.

Suburban Class B/C units have the fewest empty units.
New urban Class A units have the most empty units because supply is growing quickly.
Small independent landlords say their units are always full because they have long-term tenants and few vacancies.

Migration Patterns Still Affect How the Local Market Works

Migration flows—especially from states with high costs of living on the coast to areas with lower costs of living—are still affecting rent trends, but not as quickly as they did from 2020 to 2023.

Less Migration to the Sun Belt

Cities like Las Vegas, Phoenix, and Austin saw fewer people moving in, which made rent prices go down.

A Comeback in Some Coastal Cities

New York City, Boston, and Washington, D.C., saw demand rise again because office corridors were back in use, hybrid work was stable, and job markets were strong.

Cost Pressures Remain High Even as Some Areas Cool Off

Even though rent is going down in some places, affordability problems are still high because of:

Wages not keeping up with the cost of housing
Utility costs going up
Insurance premiums going up in areas prone to disasters
The cost of living going up in big cities

Many renters still have historically high rent-to-income ratios, which makes it harder to stick to a budget.

Economic Signals That Will Affect the Rental Market in the Future

Several economic indicators will affect national rent performance after October:

Changes in the labor market
Changes in the construction pipeline (expected in mid-2026)
Changes in insurance and regulations
Normalization of migration

One thing to keep an eye on is the possible “undersupply after 2026” when the current construction boom ends. This could cause rents to go up again.

Breakdown of Performance at the Metro Level

Metros with Strong Rent Growth

Washington, D.C.
Columbus
Cincinnati
Boston
New York City

Rent Markets That Are Weak or Going Down

Austin
Phoenix
Jacksonville
Atlanta
Las Vegas

These lists show that there is a growing gap between cities with strong job markets and those with too much supply.

What to Expect in Inventory Development

New home construction is slowing down because of:

Higher costs of financing construction
Ongoing problems with the supply chain
Shortages of workers in important areas

Expect deliveries to drop significantly by the end of 2026, which could make renting in the future more difficult.

Mermaid Diagram: Market Forces That Affect U.S. Rent Trends


flowchart TD
    A[Interest Rates] --> D[Rental Demand]
    B[Housing Supply] --> D
    C[Migration Patterns] --> D
    D --> E[Prices of Rent]
    E --> F[How affordable things are]
    F --> G[Vacancy Rates]
    G --> H[Regional Rent Outcomes]

Forecast: What Renters and Investors Should Expect

We expect the winter to be marked by:

Rent levels across the country will stay the same
Regions will continue to diverge
High-supply metros will offer more concessions
Rent prices are better in cities with a lot of jobs and not a lot of space

By the middle of 2026, tighter supply could put more upward pressure on rents across the board, especially in suburban single-family homes.