Overview

1. Nationally, rent dropped by 1% in more cities than where it increased by 1%.
2. Secondary cities drove rent increases on the Pacific Coast and in the Southeast.
3. All but three states saw rent prices increase YoY in the Northeast.

National Trends

Peak renting season has come to an end, bringing rent prices down with it.

• The national median price of a one-bedroom apartment (now $1,539) decreased by 1.35% from August to September, but is up 2% year-over-year.
• More cities had rent declines MoM than not — and the cities with monthly decreases were also more likely to see annual decreases. The same direct trend follows for cities with MoM increases.
• The city with the largest MoM decrease is Cedar Rapids, IA (-9.4%).
• The largest MoM decrease was in Pittsburgh, PA (+12.1%).

Regional Trends

The Pacific Coast

• The Pacific Coast is home to some of the most in-demand rental markets in the US — but it’s the secondary cities (a term used to describe growing cities or metro areas that are smaller than major cities, but on the economic upturn) that are seeing the most rent growth. In California, we focused on two markets: Riverside and Sacramento.
• In both markets, rent started climbing back up toward pandemic peak prices during this past summer. The difference between the September 2024 median rent for a one-bedroom apartment ($1,800) and the pandemic peak price ($1,850) is only $50 in Riverside. The difference is slightly larger in Sacramento ($81, when comparing today’s $1,595 with July 2022’s $1,676). 

The Southeast

• We identified a similar trend in two secondary cities in the Southeast: Charleston, SC and Savannah, GA.
• Both saw steady growth throughout 2023, somewhat sharp declines in the early months of 2024, and are now back on the rise. In both cities, the median asking rent price for a one-bedroom apartment is over $100 higher now than it was in January.

Rent at the State Level

• Rent is up significantly at the state level across the majority of the Northeast. Rhode Island (-3.3% YoY), Maine (-8.1% YoY), and Massachusetts (-0.8% YoY) are the only states seeing some relief compared to last year.