Pandemic-era price hikes will likely continue normalizing, particularly in markets that saw influxes of new residents over the last few years. Nationally, both one- and two-bedroom prices are down—the first time in two years that both markers have declined in tandem.
The report reveals significant price drops throughout much of the country. National one-bedroom median rent is down 0.8% over last month, to $1,491 and the two-bedroom median is down 0.7% to $1,832.
More than half the cities on our list posted month-over-month declines and 19 cities remained flat, leaving just 20% of Zumper’s top 100 list with month-over-month increases.
This slowdown is showing up in our year-over-year figures, too: After 12 straight months of double-digit year-over-year jumps, the national median is up a slightly more reasonable 9.2% over October of last year.
Cities that’d previously seen drastic price increases are slowing down significantly, including San Jose, CA (where the one-bedroom median is down 6.1% month-over-month); Tulsa, OK (down 5.9%); San Diego, CA (down 4.6%) and Seattle, WA (down 3.9%).
Even New York City—which previously saw record-breaking highs—saw a drop of more than 2% over last month for both one- and two-bedroom medians.
In surprising news, Boston is now the second most expensive city in the United States. It leapfrogged San Francisco (where post-pandemic recovery has been slower than normal and one-bedroom rent is down 4.6% this month). Median one-bedroom rent in Boston jumped 5.9% this month, to $3,060. Boston’s two-bedroom median is now $3,500, a 4.2% increase over last month.
