Nine of the 10 cities with the largest rent declines in April were in the Sunbelt, according to Redfin data.
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Rents in Sun Belt cities are falling sharply, a new report shows.
A Redfin report released Friday showed that nine of the 10 cities with the largest rent declines in April were in the Sunbelt, with Seattle being the lone exception.
Seattle’s median rent fell 7.3% year-over-year in April, the largest decline among the cities analyzed in the report and the only non-Sun Belt city in the top 10. Down 6.6% in April, Nashville, Tenn., followed at 5.9%; Jacksonville, Fla., at 5.6%; San Diego at 4.7%; and Phoenix at 4.6%, according to Redfin data.
redfin tuna
The report found that national rents rose 1.7% to $1,648 during the same period, marking the first increase in national rental prices in a year.
The report attributes the decline in rental prices in Sun Belt markets to two factors: a construction boom that has increased new apartment inventory and depressed prices, and prices in Sun Belt markets that continue to fall from their feverish pandemic-era highs.
“The Sunbelt has built a ton of new apartments in recent years, in part to meet the surge in demand from people moving in during the pandemic housing boom. But the boom is over and now owners are struggling to fill vacancies, which has led to lower rents,” Redfin senior Economist Sheharyar Bokhari said.
“The good news is that increased housing supply in the Sunbelt has improved affordability for renters, which could be a lesson for other U.S. cities grappling with housing affordability challenges.”
The report notes that while Seattle is not in the Sunbelt, it has experienced a similar apartment construction boom.
Rental prices rose rapidly in April in Midwestern metro areas, but supply did not increase as much as in the Sun Belt. Minneapolis’ median rent rose 10.3% from a year ago, followed by Cincinnati at 9.9% and Chicago at 9.1%.
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