U.S. Multifamily Rental Market Suffers Drop in Annual Rent Growth in February Amid Weak Conditions

Weak demand for rental apartments continued in February, resulting in the further deceleration of asking rents. Although rents still increased on average, the pace at which rents increased has slowed considerably. Since the end of 2022, annual rent growth nationally declined by 80 basis points to 2.9%, which is below the five-year pre-pandemic average of 3.2%. This trend is largely driven by the supply of new multifamily units significantly outpacing demand, leading to a glut of available units on the market and downward pressure on rental rates.