Apartment Rents Grew in December 2025, Snapping Five-Month Losing Streak

Apartment Rents Grew in December 2025, Snapping Five-Month Losing Streak
News| January 9, 2026| Paul Bubny
Apartment Buildings

U.S. apartment rents grew in December, with the national average increasing to $1,708, a +0.1% increase from November’s upwardly revised figure of $1,707, CoStar Group’s Apartments.com reported Friday. The uptick marks a reversal of the previous five consecutive months of flat or negative monthly rent change. Annual rent growth eased marginally to 0.66% in December 2025 from 0.74% in the prior month and down from +1.5% at the start of 2025.

Three of the four regions also snapped the downward trend that had persisted for the previous five months. The Midwest led with a +0.12% month-over-month increase, followed by the South, up +0.07%, and the Northeast, up +0.06%. The West continued to post rent declines, down -0.01%. On an annual basis, the Midwest posted the strongest performance with +2.2% growth, followed by the Northeast at +1.5%. The South’s rents declined -0.1% year-over-year, while the West declined -1.4%.

Metro-level performance improved across the U.S., with 25 of the top 50 markets posting monthly rent increases, up from just seven in November. Rent growth leaders were San Francisco at +0.64%, Norfolk +0.53% and Richmond +0.42%. San Francisco also posted the strongest annual rent growth at 5.9%.

The monthly and annual results “reinforce the broader trends: markets with the highest levels of new construction are seeing the weakest rent performance, while more supply-constrained metros — particularly in the Midwest and select coastal areas — continue to outperform,” according to Apartments.com. “In select markets, however, falling employment and softening demand may also be contributing to weaker rent growth.”

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