Can’t Afford a Home? Rent Prices Are Falling in These Areas, Providing Relief

If you can’t afford to buy a home in today’s market, consider renting. Not only is the upfront cost lower (no down payment or closing costs), but rent prices are falling faster than usual.

In August, median rent (across all apartment sizes) fell to $1,400, a 0.2% drop from the prior month and a 0.9% drop from last year (the steepest decrease since December 2023). 

By contrast, the median $410,800 home would require a $3,243 mortgage payment, assuming a 30-year fixed term loan with a 10% down payment and a 6.5% interest rate (the current average).

Where Are Rents Falling the Fastest?

According to Apartment List’s National Rent Report for September 2025, the sharpest year-over-year rent declines among metros with at least a million residents occurred in:

• Austin, TX (-6.6%)
• Denver, CO (-5.0%)
• Phoenix, AZ (-4.3%)
• Tucson, AZ (-3.9%)
• San Antonio, TX (-3.2%)
• New Orleans, LA (-2.8%)
• Raleigh, NC (-2.1%)
• Salt Lake City, UT (-2.1%)
• Dallas, TX (-2.1%)
• Orlando, FL (-2.1%)

Interestingly, many of these metros with fast-falling rents are also among those with the most multifamily permitting activity, according to Apartment List. 

A recent Apartments.com report makes a similar observation: “Markets with the highest levels of new construction are seeing the weakest rent performance, while more supply-constrained metros—particularly in the Midwest and select coastal areas—continue to outperform.”

Case in point: Metros that are still hot and showed the fastest year-over-year rent growth include San Francisco, CA (+4.7%), Chicago, IL (+3.7%), and Fresno, CA (+3.3%).

Why Rents Are Falling

A big reason rents are falling is the influx of rental inventory from a construction surge. 

In 2024, more than 600,000 new multifamily units were added to the housing market, the most new supply in a single year since 1986. While we’ve passed the peak of this supply wave, the pipeline remains active, with another 243,000 multifamily units delivered in the first half of this year.

As a result, rental owners have less pricing leverage, leading to lower rents and higher vacancy rates.

Zooming out, it’s clear that for many, now may be a better time to rent than to buy. 

“Nationwide, rents peaked in August 2022 and since then they have fallen 3%,” said Rob Warnock, Lead Economic Researcher at Apartment List. “During that same period, home prices are up 9% (according to Case-Shiller), and when you factor in higher mortgage rates, you end up in a situation where renting is the only affordable option for many families.”

Will Rent Relief Last?

Rent relief may be short-lived. Apartment List reports that multifamily construction is already slowing, and the decline is likely to continue through 2026, tightening the rental market.

“Declining building permits indicate that the pipeline will continue to dwindle, and as it does, landlords will gain more leverage to increase prices,” Warnock explained. “Rent growth won’t be as extreme in builder-friendly markets (thanks to all of the development that has taken place) but should return to more balanced growth as the construction industry pulls back.”

The Bottom Line

As a prospective homeowner, now may be a good time to take advantage of falling rents as you save for a down payment. Then, as renting becomes less favorable, you may be in a better position to secure a home to buy, especially if home values and mortgage rates continue to fall in the meantime.