Apartments.com Finds a Deeply Divided Rental Market
(Photo credit: Mike Sorohan)
The multifamily market is increasingly defined by regional extremes, a new report from Apartments.com, Arlington, Va., has found.
The firm’s RentPulse Index is a quarterly measure designed to track the financial and behavioral health of renters across the United States. It found that renters in supply-heavy Sun Belt markets are gaining leverage through falling rents and widespread concessions. “At the same time, renters in constrained coastal and Northeastern markets continue to face rising prices, leaving many renters facing higher renewal costs and affordability pressure,” the report said.
Affordability Gaps are Reaching Extremes
RentPulse findings indicate that while the national rent-to-income ratio remains relatively balanced at 23.3%, renters in many major coastal markets are spending far beyond the commonly recommended 30% threshold. For example, in New York City, the average renter earning the city’s median household income would need to spend nearly 70% of their income on a one-bedroom apartment.
“Four of New York’s five boroughs accounted for the top 10 least affordable major rental markets, with the majority of rent burdened metros concentrated in the Northeast,” the report said. “Cities in Texas and the Midwest offer more affordable options, with rent-to-income ratios under 25%. The widening gap highlights how location increasingly determines whether renters are financially stretched or able to maintain flexibility in their housing budgets.”
Rent Concessions Surge in Sun Belt Cities
Just over 41% of multifamily properties nationwide currently offer rent concessions, a 9.9 percentage point increase over 2025. The national concession rate rose to 2.0% in Q1 2026, up from 1.8% last year, meaning renters are paying an average of 2% less than advertised due to incentives. Fort Myers, Fla., posted the deepest concessions at 5.3%, followed by Asheville, N.C. (4.4%), Denver (4.0%), Austin (3.9%) and Phoenix (3.8%).
But effective rents are falling in ways that headline numbers don’t always capture, particularly across the Sun Belt markets that are still absorbing the 2023–2025 supply surge, Apartments.com found.
• Sarasota: 81.8% of properties offer concessions, and nearly half are advertising two months free, among the most aggressive discounting in the country.
• Charlotte: More than half of properties (51.2%) now offer concessions, a 13.8-point jump in a single year.
• Austin: Now the 12th-largest city in the U.S., but facing an apartment glut with approximately 700 properties offering concessions and over 60% advertising one to two months free.
• San Antonio: In March, it posted the highest vacancy rate among the 50 largest U.S. metros, a sign of just how far supply has outpaced demand.
• Phoenix: A paradox and one of the hottest economic markets in the country, yet still seeing rising inventory, elevated vacancies, and widespread concessions.
