National apartment rent growth cools to slowest annual pace in 16 months

September data confirms a fall cooldown has come to the residential rental market, as national rent growth dropped to its lowest annual pace (7.8 percent) since June 2021, according to the Realtor.com Monthly Rental Report.

In another sign of more typical seasonal moderation than the previous year, the U.S. median rental price posted its second month-over-month decline in eight months in September, further slipping from its July peak.

“After more than a year of double-digit yearly rent gains and nearly as many months of record-high rents, it’s especially important to see consistency before we confirm a major shift like the recent rental market cooldown. But September data provides that evidence, as national rents continued to pull back from their latest all-time high registered just two months ago,” said Danielle Hale, Realtor.com chief economist. “This return of more seasonal norms indicates t