Rental concessions are surging—and rents have now declined year over year for 37 consecutive months
Rental concessions are surging—and rents have now declined year over year for 37 consecutive months
Original report: “August 2026 Rental Report: Rents Fall for 37th Straight Month as Concessions Give Renters More Leverage”
Jiayi Xu and Danielle Hale, Realtor.com Economic Research — September 17, 2026
Read the full Realtor.com rental report
What the article says: Median asking rent for studios through two-bedroom properties across the 50 largest metros was $1,699 in August, down 0.9% from a year earlier and 3.7% below the summer 2022 peak. This marked the 37th consecutive month of year-over-year declines.
But the concession numbers may be even more useful to landlords.
Some 43.5% of rental listings offered concessions, up from 40.4% one year earlier. Denver's concession rate reached 71.9%, followed by Austin at 70.7%, Las Vegas at 69.6%, Nashville at 69% and San Antonio at 67.9%.
Our Take: This is an important reality check for investors underwriting deals based on aggressive rent growth.
The national numbers don't mean rents are collapsing. But they do show that landlords in oversupplied markets are increasingly competing for tenants.
And there's an important difference between asking rent and effective rent. A property advertised at $2,000 per month but offering a month free isn't really producing the same first-year rental income as a property collecting $2,000 for all 12 months.
Why This Matters to Investors: Investors need realistic rent assumptions when evaluating acquisitions.
If competing apartment communities are offering free rent, waived fees and other incentives, smaller landlords may feel that pressure—even if their own advertised rents haven't fallen yet.
This is especially important in markets that experienced major multifamily construction booms.
How Investors Can Use This Information: When doing rental comps, look beyond the advertised monthly rent. Research concessions, vacancy, lease-up activity and competing units currently under construction.
Existing landlords may also want to compare the cost of a targeted concession against the cost of vacancy. Sometimes a carefully structured incentive is cheaper than allowing a unit to sit empty—but permanently reducing rent isn't necessarily the only option.
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