Where rents are falling (or rising) most

A building boom across the South and Mountain West has driven down rents in cities like Austin, Texas, where median rent fell nearly 6% in February compared to a year earlier, with similar declines in San Antonio, New Orleans, and Denver. The median U.S. rent for new leases dropped 1.5% annually to $1,400 per month, though it remains roughly 20% above pre-pandemic levels, according to Apartment List data. Rental markets remain tight in the Midwest, Northeast, and parts of the West Coast, where building is constrained by zoning restrictions, with rents rising around 5% in Virginia Beach and the Bay Area. High building costs and supply gluts have made developers cautious about new projects, focusing mostly on luxury apartments when they do build. Rents are expected to climb as the peak summer moving season approaches.