For the 20th consecutive month, rents declined in March, and the median asking price for rent in the 50 largest metros is now $65 lower than the 2022 peak, standing at $1,694, according to the Realtor.com March Rent Report. While rents have been declining for nearly two years due in large part to new multifamily inventory, new tariffs could have impacts on metros where multi-family permitting activity is growing fastest, jeopardizing rent declines.
“While the median asking rent is down $65 monthly or over $700 annually, in nearly every major U.S. metro rents are still considerably higher than 2019,” said Joel Berner, senior economist at Realtor.com. “We have seen declines in rents largely due to robust multi-family building and permitting adding more rental opti
