Key Findings: How Much Is the Rent?

A report from realtor.com shows that median rents are falling across the U.S., and have been for nearly three years. The report is based on the advertised cost of studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments, as well as condominiums and single-family homes, listed for rent on realtor.com. The site has been publishing reports monthly since fall of 2020.

Here are a few key findings of the April report.

• Median rent around the U.S. was $1,673 in April 2026, a 1.7 percent drop from a year ago and a 5.2 percent decline from the last peak in 2022. On average, rent is still 17.9 percent, or $254 per month, higher than it was before the pandemic.
• The number of multifamily housing units under construction has declined from recent years but still is higher than before the pandemic. There were 684,000 apartment units under construction in the first quarter of 2026 compared to 765,000 the year before. “This suggests while the construction boom is unwinding, the pipeline remains meaningfully elevated by historical standards, and a steady stream of new rental supply should continue reaching the market in the near term,” the authors wrote. The number of housing starts, or apartment units that began construction during the quarter, was up almost 20 percent compared to a year prior, and higher than the pre-pandemic average.
• The Austin area had the biggest year-over-year drop in advertised rents at 5.3 percent, followed by Oklahoma City with a 5 percent drop. On the other side of the ledger, Kansas City had a 4.7 percent increase in asking rents, followed by Pittsburgh with 3 percent.