:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/GettyImages-1497264660-98f60ec41ff94a079603593f7be304c8.jpg "As Prices Fall, Renters Search for More Space, Cheaper Housing")
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Key Takeaways
- Rents in August fell by 2.2%, marking the 25th month that they’ve moved lower on an annual basis, a Realtor.com report found.
- Even with the decline over the past two years, rents are still significantly higher than pre-pandemic levels.
- The report found that finding more affordable housing and getting more space were among the most cited reasons that renters moved.
An ongoing decline in rents is giving more people the opportunity to find more space at a lower cost.
Rent prices fell for the 25th straight month in August, according to a Realtor.com report, with places like Las Vegas, Atlanta and Austin, Texas seeing some of the sharpest declines.
While rental prices are still 17% higher than pre-pandemic levels, U.S. median rent in August was 2.2% lower than last year, Realtor.com said. Rents are falling even more than the national average in several big metro areas: Rent in Denver fell 7% year-over-year in August, while Austin rents were down 6.5% and Las Vegas and Atlanta rents were both more than 4% lower.
What Renters Want
As rents have fallen over the last two years, renter mobility has increased, according to the most recent data from the Census Bureau. In 2024, 21.6% of renters moved, compared with 20.8% of renters who moved in 2021 and 2022.
“As rents remain significantly higher than pre-pandemic levels, our Site Visitor Survey shows that the search for a more affordable home remains one of the top reasons to move across all age groups. This is likely a reason why we’re starting to see a modest uptick in renter mobility,” Realtor.com Chief Economist Danielle Hale said in a release.
In addition to seeking a larger home that’s less expensive, renters also told Realtor.com that they moved to experience a new neighborhood, to be closer to work or friends and family, or because their living situation had changed.
Making Tradeoffs for Savings
And they’re willing to make some tradeoffs to save money, with 43% saying they’d sacrifice onsite services for more affordable housing. Others said they would be willing to have a longer commute or fewer amenities.
“It shows that many households are carefully weighing costs against lifestyle, to find a home that better fits their budget,” said Jiayi Xu, economist at Realtor.com.
While a majority of renters said they plan to become homeowners some day, only three out of 10 said they expect to reach that goal in the next one to two years. More than 40% said they either had no plans to own a home or weren’t sure about it.
