Here’s What You Can Do if Yours Isn’t One of Them

Housing is the largest expense for most Americans, claiming a significant 30% to 36% of their monthly budgets. Numerous factors can affect how much you’ll pay in rent, and some metro areas are kinder than others. Redfin tagged the three cities that showed the greatest decreases as of 2025. Is yours one of them?

What Affects Rental Rates? 

How much you’ll pay in rent depends on the size of the home, its amenities, and other factors that are unique to the property. But rental rates are subject to many external factors as well.

• The economy: Inflation hikes rental rates everywhere, along with the costs of just about every other product or service. A healthy economy can spur increases, too, because consumers are more willing to spend money—at least temporarily, until the economic landscape changes. So, landlords feel free to charge more.
• Demand: More available rental units due to factors such as new construction, new development, or citizen migration can reduce rates as landlords and investors scramble to lure tenants into their properties instead of someone else’s. The flip side is that fewer available units will likely send rent rates higher.
• Rent control: Some local and state governments obligingly place a legislative cap on how much landlords can charge.

“Renters and landlords also deal with seasonal rental cycles where rents may be higher in the summer due to increased mobility and lower in the winter, when relocation can slow,” says Harrison Stevens, vice president of marketing at TurboTenant. “Similarly, community construction is often aligned with the seasons, and that can bring new neighborhood changes, such as transit options and commercial developments that make neighborhoods more desirable.”

So which metro areas have been affected the most?

Austin, Texas (Including Round Rock and Georgetown)

Austin was once the most expensive major city in Texas when it came to rental rates, but it takes the top spot for plunging rent prices in 2025, according to Redfin. Rates are the lowest they’ve been since 2021. This comes after they skyrocketed during the COVID-19 pandemic, as the city welcomed thousands of new residents. Neighboring Georgetown and Round Rock have experienced the same trends.

The demand factor plays a role here. The city issued a multitude of permits for the construction of multifamily units from April 2024 through March 2025: 64.5 per 10,000 residents. Construction first began booming during the pandemic. The Texas Tribune reports that 957 apartment building permits per 100,000 residents were granted between 2021 and 2023.

“When the construction of new apartments booms, like in Austin, supply will outpace demand, pushing rents down and increasing the number of vacancies,” Stevens says.

Redfin put Austin’s median asking rent rate at $1,385 in May 2025, 8.8% less than it was the year before and 1% less than in April 2025. Austin’s lower year-over-year and month-over-month median asking rent rate continued as of August 2025.

Minneapolis, Minnesota (Including St. Paul and Bloomington, Wisconsin)

Minneapolis came in at second on Redfin’s list. The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis attributes it to rent control measures in the city, citing the Minneapolis 2040 Plan that was adopted in 2019 to prompt housing affordability. But the plan’s initial impact sent rental rates skyrocketing. The city’s median rental rate rose 25.7% from 2019 through 2023.

Then the economy made an impact. Interest rates and construction costs soared in 2023 and 2024, and multifamily-unit construction faltered. Construction permits plunged 77.6% from 2019 through 2023 and 92.4% from 2019 through 2024.

The median asking rent in Minneapolis dropped by 6.3% from May 2024 through May 2025, although it was actually up 0.7% from April 2025. The median asking rent in the city’s core-based statistical area (CBSA) was $1,551. The CBSA includes St. Paul and nearby Bloomington, Wisconsin.

Columbus, Ohio 

Columbus snagged third place on Redfin’s list, and that’s nothing to scoff at because 44 major city locations were included in the study. It nudged out Nashville by 0.1% with a drop in median asking rent of 3.5% from May 2024. It was the most significant drop for the city since 2019. The median asking rent was $1,427 in May 2025.

And Columbus offers another nice perk: The overall cost of living here was reportedly 5.2% less than the national average as of September 2025. Groceries and utilities cost a bit more in this location, however—0.9% and 3.2%, respectively—but transportation costs were a notable 11.2% less.

You Can Negotiate

You’re not doomed to paying exorbitant rent if you live somewhere other than these three renter-friendly metropolitan areas, such as Cincinnati, at a year-over-year increase of 7.4% as of May 2025.

Realtor.com suggests negotiating with a potential landlord or even your existing landlord if your lease is coming up for renewal. Present them with cold, hard facts regarding how much other properties are going for in your area. Don’t ask for an eye-popping reduction in the asking price. The keyword here is “negotiate.” It should be in an area that’s open to discussion.

The Bottom Line 

The average homebuyer in the U.S. needs an annual income of about $50,000 more than the average renter, according to Redfin. There are some perks inherent in renting, even if you can’t whittle your rent down.

“Higher homebuying costs mean that renting may offer better value, especially for those who can’t immediately afford a down payment or mortgage,” Stevens says. “Keep an eye out for move-in bonuses, waived fees, or amenities, and always be sure to read the fine print on leases because many landlords may offer deals to fill units.”