As seen on GlobeSt.
The national apartment market is showing its clearest signs yet of stabilization after a prolonged period of supply-driven weakness, though the recovery remains gradual and uneven across metros.
National median rent increased 0.1% in August to $1,390, according to Apartment List’s September 2026 national rent report. The gain was modest, but it marked the seventh consecutive month of rent increases and the first positive August reading since 2022.
This is significant for multifamily investors because August has recently been a point at which seasonal rent growth began to fade earlier than usual. This year’s increase suggests demand held up longer through the peak moving season, even as the market continues to work through a large volume of newly delivered apartments.
Apartment List said the market appears to be approaching an inflection point as construction slows and recently completed units are absorbed. However, the coming off-season will test whether that improvement can continue. The report expects the typical seasonal slowdown to begin within the next month or two.
“In other words, rents are still falling but not as fast as they used to be,” Apartment List said. “Rents are still down 0.8% compared to one year ago, but year-over-year rent growth has been inching up and the vacancy rate is inching down.”
Vacancy Rates Begin To Ease
The improving rent trend is being accompanied by a modest decline in vacancy, another potential indication that supply-demand conditions are beginning to rebalance.
Apartment List’s vacancy index fell to 7.1% in August from 7.3% in February, when it reached its highest level since the company began tracking occupancy in 2017. Vacancy remains above its long-term average, underscoring that operators are still competing for renters in many markets. Still, the direction of travel is significant after several quarters in which deliveries outpaced demand.
The report said multifamily occupancy is reaching an inflection point alongside recent rent growth. For owners and lenders, that could signal the beginning of a more favorable operating environment, particularly if the construction pipeline continues to moderate.
The outlook is not without risk. Apartment List said inflation and labor-market conditions will play an important role in determining whether vacancy continues to decline and whether rent growth can gain further traction.
Leasing velocity remains a pressure point. Apartments took an average of 32 days to rent, three days longer than a year earlier. That suggests renters retain meaningful choice despite the recent improvement in occupancy.
National Rents Remain Below Last Year
Despite August’s monthly increase, national rents have not fully recovered from the supply-heavy market of the past two years.
The August median rent of $1,390 was $5 higher than in April but still $11 below the August 2025 level. Median rent stood at $1,221 for one-bedroom units and $1,376 for two-bedroom units.
National median rent has declined 3.6% or $52 per month, from its mid-2022 peak. On the brightside, rents remain 21% above their level at the start of 2021, according to Apartment List.
That longer-term perspective is important for investors evaluating the market’s current softness. The industry is facing weaker year-over-year rent performance and elevated vacancies, but it is doing so from a substantially higher rent base than it had before the pandemic-era surge.
The key question is whether demand can continue to absorb supply as completions slow. Apartment List’s latest data suggest that process is underway, but not yet complete.
Market Performance Remains Highly Uneven
The recovery is playing out differently across the country, particularly in markets that saw the largest apartment construction booms.
San Antonio recorded the steepest year-over-year rent decline among the nation’s 100 largest metros, with rents down 5.1%. Austin, once one of the country’s strongest rent-growth markets, remained under pressure, though its decline has moderated. Rents in Austin were down 2.9% year-over-year in August, less than half the 6.8% decline recorded a year earlier.
Other markets most affected by the recent development cycle, including Denver, Phoenix, Tampa and Charlotte, also appear to have bottomed out, according to the report. The moderating declines in those markets may be particularly notable for investors seeking signs that supply-heavy Sun Belt metros are moving closer to equilibrium.
At the other end, the strongest rent growth remains concentrated in Northern California. San Francisco posted 11% year-over-year rent growth, while San Jose recorded 7.9%. Apartment List attributed the Bay Area’s gains to the region’s AI-driven economic boom.
In San Francisco, rents increased 26% year-over-year. Apartment List described Bay Area rent growth as “truly staggering, far outpacing all other markets in the country.”
Several relatively affordable Midwest markets also ranked among the country’s top performers, including Milwaukee, Chicago and Minneapolis. Virginia Beach, Honolulu, Detroit, Kansas City, Hartford and Tulsa also made the national top 10, supported by comparatively affordable rent levels and demand conditions.
“The market is definitely turning the corner, but the shift is occurring gradually,” Apartment List said.
