(NEXSTAR) – Renters may finally catch a break next year.
Of the 100 cities analyzed in Zumper’s Annual Rent Report, which was released this week, 55 have seen rent prices drop since last year. An additional 17 are flat year-over-year.
The report predicts rent prices will keep “softening,” at least through the first half of 2024.
Part of the reason for dropping prices, according to Zumper, is a recent increase in supply, as new apartment buildings and complexes keep opening in fast-growing cities. Real-time data providers like Zillow and ApartmentList also show rent growth for new apartments tumbling.
Nationwide, the cost of renting a one-bedroom dropped by a tenth of a percent in 2023, Zumper reports, but is expected to drop by larger margins in 2024 in cities where supply has caught up with demand. Sun Belt cities, from Phoenix to Austin to Orlando, have all seen one-bedroom rents drop between 5% and 11%.
“This trend is most pronounced in some of the pandemic’s most popular Zoomtowns, including
Phoenix and Austin,” reads the report. “Texas cities—especially Austin and Dallas—have been extremely bullish in bringing new multifamily developments to market.”
Outside the Sun Belt, Denver, Las Vegas and Salt Lake City have all been attracting new residents for years. Now, after lots of new development, Zumper says the rental markets may be…
