The average rent in the US has fallen below $2,000 for the first time in five months.
According to the latest October data from the housing site Rent.the national average price to rent a home is now $1,978 per month – down 0.29 percent year over year.
This is the lowest price since April, when average rental costs were $1,967 – before rising slightly to $1,995 in May, before peaking in August at $2,052 in 2023.
The price drop is welcome news for renters – driven by below-normal demand, increased inventory and a return to seasonal price trends, with costs typically falling in the fall.
But some states are seeing a much bigger drop in prices than others, while in many states average costs have also risen over the year through October.
Average rental costs in the US have fallen below $2,000 for the first time in five months – with some states seeing a bigger drop in average prices than others
The states with the largest year-over-year rent declines compared to October were largely concentrated in the West, according to the data.
The biggest drop was in Oregon, where the price fell 9.32 percent year over year to $1,680 per month – below the national average.
The Mountain West states of Idaho and Colorado saw the second and third largest price drops: 7.74 percent to $1,550 and 6.79 percent to $2,051, respectively.
Oregon’s neighbor Washington in the Pacific Northwest saw the fourth largest drop in average rental costs: a 6.67 percent decline to an average price of $2,278.
The state was followed by Utah – where the average rent fell to $1,597 – down 6.19 percent over the year through October, the data showed.
Jon Leckie, researcher at Rent., told DailyMail.com: “The Mountain West, led by Boise, Idaho, was in many ways the epitome of pandemic-era migration. The region’s relatively affordable housing costs attracted a significant number of people away from the more expensive metros on the West Coast.
“As inward migration increased housing costs in the area, this move became less attractive. Combined with a return to offices for many people and a lack of demand across the sector, prices have continued to fall across the region.”
The same could be said of the Pacific Northwest, added Leckie, who compiled the latest study.
The state with the largest year-over-year increase in monthly rent was Mississippi, where rents rose 18.3 percent, according to the findings.
Despite this increase, the Magnolia State still remained quite affordable among the other winners, with the typical rent significantly below the national average of $1,208 in October.
This is evident from the latest October data from housing site Rent. the national average price to rent a home is now $1,978 per month – down 0.29 percent year over year
Leckie, a researcher who compiled the study, noted that the allure of cheaper rents in the South has led to an influx of renters from across the country, increasing demand and driving up prices.
The state with the second biggest price increase was New York, where costs rose 11.2 percent over the year to an average of $2,751 – one of the most expensive in the country.
North Dakota recorded nearly 11 percent growth year over year, while Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa all hovered around 10 percent growth through October, according to the data.
Although average rental costs have fallen for two consecutive months – and continued to decline over the year through October – long-term rents remain high.
Since the pandemic, prices have risen more than 20 percent, increasing monthly rental bills by more than $340, the study found.
This year, prices have risen steadily from February to a peak in August, rising nearly 6 percent and coming within $2 of the all-time high of $2,054 in August 2022.
The declines since August have seen average rental costs fall by nearly $75 from the August peak.