Given the economic slowdown, more and more property managers are offering rent concessions.
A third of rental listings on real estate website Zillow in July offered incentives such as free parking or free weeks of rent, the company reported on Monday. A year earlier, the figure was just 25 percent.
“Builders have stepped up their efforts in response to rising rents during the pandemic, building an incredible number of homes, and renters are now reaping the benefits,” Zillow chief economist Skylar Olsen said in a statement.
She said a post-pandemic construction boom is increasing the supply of housing and helping to keep the rental vacancy rate stable at 6.6%. More apartment buildings were built in June than at any time since 1973.
“Rents are still rising,” she said. “But they are a far cry from the steep increases seen two or three years ago, and in some places tenants are being offered incentives for more than half of rent.”
In Atlanta, Austin, Salt Lake City, Nashville, Raleigh, NC and Charlotte, NC, more than half of rentals on the market are offering concessions. San Jose, Baltimore, Milwaukee and Pittsburgh are the four major metropolitan areas that saw fewer concessions in July compared to last year.
According to Zillow, rent growth slowed in July for the second month in a row. Multifamily rents have risen a historically normal 5.1% since July 2022. At the start of the pandemic, rents rose 22.3% from 2020 to 2022.
