Multifamily rents have ticked up so far this year, but the rate of growth is still lower than historic norms, according to a July 15 report from real estate data firm Yardi Matrix.
Continuing the recent trend of moderate growth, U.S. multifamily advertised rents rose $4 month over month in June, led by strong performance in primary markets, per Yardi.
In Q2, rents rose 0.7% from the previous quarter, led by New York and San Francisco, and increased 1% in the first half compared with H2 2025. Both measures are well below the pace recorded in the immediate post-pandemic period, as well as the pre-pandemic norm, according to Yardi. For example, from 2013 to 2019, rent prices typically rose about 2.7% during the first half of the year and 1.8% in the second quarter.
RealPage analysis shows similar trends: After inching up quarter over quarter in Q1, effective asking rents grew more notably, by 1.4% QOQ, in Q2, per its July 6 report. However, those recent increases weren’t enough to counteract earlier declines, with rent prices down 0.2% YOY in June. Concessions remain widespread, with nearly 25% of apartments offering discounts as of Q2 at an average of 7.6%.
Overall, leasing activity remains healthy, though demand has waned, according to Yardi.
Preliminary data shows that national absorption totaled about 108,000 units in the first five months of 2026, down 61% from the same period last year.
That suggests that “household formation is no longer keeping pace with apartment completions, which could extend soft market conditions,” per Yardi, while the elevated volume of new apartment deliveries continues to limit opportunities to raise prices.
Location, location, location
Gateway and Midwest markets recorded the highest rent growth YOY in June, according to Yardi. Growth markets were led by New York (5.6%), San Francisco (4.7%), Chicago (2.6%), Kansas City in Kansas and Missouri (2.4%) and the Twin Cities in Minnesota (2.2%).
By contrast, rent growth remained largely negative YOY in June in Sun Belt metros, including Austin, Texas (-4%); Denver (-3.1%); Tampa, Florida (-2.8%); Phoenix (-2.7%); and Houston (-2%), per Yardi.
RealPage’s analysis showed the South is the only region still seeing annual price declines, and remains the only U.S. region with occupancy below 95%. In general, rent cuts were deepest in Sun Belt markets, while tech-oriented coastal markets continued to lead in rent growth.
Yardi’s report showed the national occupancy rate fell to 94.1% in June, a 0.6% YOY decline. San Francisco was the only market to post a gain, of 0.3%, while all other Matrix top 30 markets recorded declines, most of which were 50 basis points or more. The largest drops were in Tampa (-1.4%), followed by Washington, D.C. (-1%), Houston and Columbus, Ohio (both -0.9%).
On an absolute basis, more markets have dipped below 93% occupancy, per Yardi. Beyond the usual Texas markets — Houston, Austin and Dallas — Las Vegas and Atlanta also saw declines.
Asset type trends
Lifestyle and renter-by-necessity rents both increased 0.2% MOM in June, according to Yardi. Weakness was more pronounced in the RBN segment, reflecting affordability pressures in lower-income households, which have less ability to absorb rent increases.
Charlotte recorded the weakest RBN rent growth, followed by Austin, Houston and Orlando. By comparison, only Houston, Nashville and Tampa declined in the lifestyle segment.
The single-family rental sector posted a solid first half of 2026, outperforming 2025 despite muted rent growth. SF build-to-rent rates rose $6 MOM to $2,234 in June and grew 0.2% YOY, per Yardi. In the first half, SF-BTR rents rose 1.1% from H2 2025.
Rent and occupancy performance are both increasingly diverging by product segment in the single-family rental sector, according to Yardi. SF BTR lifestyle rents declined 0.2% YOY in Juhe while RBN rents increased 3.3%, and that widening divergence underscores the strong demand for more affordable single-family rentals.
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