Single-Family Rent Growth Falls to Lowest Level in 15-Plus Years, Cotality Finds

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Cotality, Irvine, Calif., reported that single-family rent prices in August 2025 increased 1.4% from August 2024–significantly less than the 3% average increase a year ago.

“Annual single-family rent growth fell to its lowest level in more than 15 years this August, highlighting a notable shift in the rental market,” said Molly Boesel, senior principal economist at Cotality. “We’re seeing slower growth across price tiers and in many major metros.”

But Boesel noted that not all areas follow the same pattern. “Atlanta, Philadelphia and Los Angeles continue to show stronger rent growth, with Los Angeles now only slightly above its pre-wildfire level from January,” she said. “Los Angeles ranks second among the top 10 metros for rent growth, suggesting that local conditions such as recovery efforts, limited housing supply, and regional economic factors can still influence rental trends even as national price growth moderates.”

Rent in both high-end and low-end price tiers climbed just slightly year over year. The report said high-end properties saw rent prices increase 1.6% year over year in August 2025, a drop from the year-over-year gain of 3.3% in August 2024. Low-end rent prices increased 1.1% year over year in August 2025, down from a 2.8% gain in August 2024.

Among the largest metro areas, Chicago remained at the top of the list for the highest rent growth at 4.7% in August. Los Angeles followed at 2.8%, Philadelphia rose 2.7%, Washington, D.C. was up 2.6%, and Atlanta rents climbed 1.9%. Dallas recorded a 0.6% decline in rent growth in August, making it the lowest among large cities in the nation. “Single-family rent growth in the Dallas metro area has been mostly hovering around 0% for the past year thanks to a large number of multifamily rental units coming online and giving renters some bargaining power,” Cotality noted.