The first quarter of 2025 marked a significant shift in the U.S. rental landscape, with broad increases in listing inventory, modest rent price changes, and signs of steady demand across property types. Here’s a look at some of the key takeaways from Rental Beast’s latest nationwide data.
Rental supply surged in Q1 2025. Year-over-year, single-family rental listings jumped a staggering 91.1%, while multifamily listings climbed 21.6%. Inventory also increased across all unit sizes: 3-bedroom units were up 58.1%, 2-bedrooms rose 25.1%, and 1-bedrooms grew 19.6%. After a tight 2024, this wave of new listings is giving renters more options—and landlords more competition.
Rent prices dipped slightly for apartments, but climbed for stand-alone homes. Median rents fell for 1-bedroom (-$63), 2-bedroom (-$65), and 3-bedroom (-$61) units compared to the previous quarter. Meanwhile, single-family homes reached a new high of $1,950, possibly reflecting increased demand for larger living spaces. Multifamily rents declined slightly to $1,871.
Despite rising supply, 28% of listings included landlord concessions, the same as in Q4 2024 and the highest rate in the past year. This suggests landlords are maintaining incentives to stay competitive, but aren't increasing them further—at least not yet.
Listings moved at a relatively consistent pace in Q1 2025. Both single-family and multifamily properties spent an average of 23 days on market, down slightly for multifamily units and nearly unchanged for single-family homes. Even with more inventory available, steady renter demand appears to be keeping turnover times in check.
In a nationwide sentiment survey, 74% of property managers said they expect rent prices to remain the same over the next six months. Only 3% expect a decrease, while 23% foresee an increase. Application activity was also stable, with 72% reporting no major change in the number of applicants per listing.
In several metro areas, renting continues to be a more cost-effective choice compared to buying—especially with mortgage rates holding steady. Cities like Miami, Baltimore, and Cleveland offer some of the smallest rent-vs-buy gaps. Meanwhile, markets like San Diego, Boston, and Sacramento remain among the least affordable for buyers.
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