This marks the steepest November decline in over 15 years
United States apartment rents continued to drift lower in November as a wave of new supply and cooling demand weighed on multifamily performance.
Apartments.com, part of CoStar Group, reported that the national average rent fell to $1,706, a 0.18% decline from October’s revised $1,709.
That marked “the fifth consecutive month of flat or negative monthly rent change and the steepest November decline in over 15 years,” the platform said, though the drop moderated from October’s -0.30% slide.
Annual rent growth slowed to 0.7%, down from 0.8% in October and 1.5% at the start of the year.
Apartments.com framed the shift firmly in seasonal context. “Apartment rent growth typically follows a seasonal pattern, with acceleration in the spring and a slowdown in late summer and fall,” the report said.
“The seasonal trends have been more severe this year, but a moderating trend appears to now be underway.”
At the same time, the firm warned that “while the market hasn’t entered a widespread downturn, the November data highlights the delicate balance of rent growth in the fourth quarter.”
All regions saw rents fall in November, with the West down 0.4%, the South off 0.2%, the Northeast slipping 0.1% and the Midwest effectively flat at -0.01%.
On a yearly basis, the Midwest posted 2.2% rent growth, followed by 1.7% in the Northeast, while the South’s rents dipped 0.1% and the West declined 1.5%.
Regional pain points for lenders
Performance at the metro level remained soft. Only seven markets posted positive monthly growth, led by Louisville, Kansas City and Norfolk, each up 0.1%.
By contrast, Las Vegas fell 0.8%; San Antonio, Austin and Denver dropped 0.7%; and Salt Lake City, Raleigh and Portland, OR, declined 0.6%.
“Mountain West and Sun Belt markets continue to face elevated vacancy amid aggressive new supply, putting downward pressure on rents,” the report said, adding that in some metros “softening demand may also be contributing to weaker rent growth, particularly where major employers have announced layoffs or where economic momentum has slowed.”
On an annual basis, San Francisco led with 5.6% rent growth, followed by San Jose at 3.6%, Chicago at 3.4% and Norfolk at 3.3%.
Austin’s annual rents fell 4.7%, Denver’s dropped 3.6% and Phoenix’s decreased 3.2%, “all driven lower by oversupply outpacing demand,” the report said.
Broader multifamily pressures and mortgage risk
CoStar’s national analytics separately pointed to a vacancy rate of about 8.4% in the second half of 2025, up from roughly 8.26% in the first quarter – a shift it linked to “rising vacancy among stabilized properties,” partly offset by improving lease‑up on new deliveries.
The supply story has been building for months. Earlier this year, Yardi Matrix data showed rents rising just 1.2% in the first half of 2025 as new construction and macro uncertainty “weighed on performance,” with renters still facing “rising costs and limited options.”
In that context, November’s pullback underscored how quickly momentum could shift once a long pipeline of projects hit the market.
Markets with the heaviest new construction faces the weakest rent performance, while supply‑constrained Midwestern and select coastal metros continue to outperform.
That gap, coupled with vacancy creeping higher, means underwriting assumptions on rent growth, lease‑up velocity and refinance exits need closer scrutiny.
The backdrop suggests that even as seasonal pressure eased in early 2026, “a substantial inventory overhang” would continue to cap rent growth and keep credit standards tight for all but the strongest sponsors.
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