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Annual rent growth rose to 1.3 percent in August, according to the latest rent growth report from Apartments.com. This gradual acceleration continues a modest upward trend that began in March and reflects a slow shift toward stabilization of multifamily market conditions as oversupply conditions improve, two years on from the 40-year supply peak reached in 2024.
Annual rent growth continues upward climb
August saw year-over-year rent growth edge up to 1.3 percent even as monthly rent growth fell by 0.03 percent, remaining essentially flat. As of August, the average national asking rent is $1,751.
In 2025, annual rent growth in August was at 1.1 percent. It then fell each consecutive month until reaching a trough of 0.6 percent in February of this year. Since then, annual rent growth has gradually begun to accelerate, rising to 0.7 percent in March and breaking the 1-percent mark in June.
Pacific region pulls ahead
At the regional level, the Pacific and Midwest regions posted the highest rent growth nationwide. The two regions remain neck to neck at 2.2 percent annual rent growth, with a slight advantage for the Pacific region, which is home to the leading California markets that have posted the nation’s fastest rent growth in recent months.
Close behind, the Northeast region posted 2 percent annual rent growth.
In contrast, the South and Mountain regions remain in negative territory. Annual rent growth in the South fell just below flat, at negative 0.1 percent, while the Mountain region posted negative 0.5 percent rent growth.
The difference in performance reflects the market conditions in these regions. Supply remains extremely limited in the Pacific, while demand has stayed strong. Similarly, the Midwest and Northeast markets have been characterized by more restrained development paired with healthy demand.
The South and Mountain regions, on the other hand, have been home to active construction pipelines in recent years while demand has fallen below its pandemic-era highs. This supply-demand mismatch has driven down asking rents.
San Francisco rents continue their rapid acceleration
Of the major multifamily markets nationwide, one market continues to stand out. San Francisco, which broke two-digit rent growth last month, retains its top spot on rent growth charts, posting the largest annual rent increase nationwide.
The San Francisco market saw rents increase annually by 11.9 percent, while runner-up San Jose — another tech-heavy Bay Area market that has benefited from the demand boom thanks to artificial intelligence — posted growth of 7.7 percent.
Also in the San Francisco Bay Area, the East Bay market took the fourth spot on the chart with 5.1 percent annual rent growth.
In third place was Virginia’s Norfolk market, a multifamily market that has profited from limited development, along with high demand from its naval base and Port of Virginia, one of the nation’s largest.
San Antonio remains at bottom of charts, as Austin creeps upward
As of August, 14 markets have negative annual rent growth, with most in the Sun Belt or Mountain regions.
Since falling to last place in June, San Antonio has maintained its position at the bottom of the chart. In August, rents in the relatively low-demand Texas market declined annually by 2.2 percent. The second poorest performing market was Denver, where rents fell by 1.9 percent following a historically large wave of new supply.
After years solidly at the bottom of the chart, Austin continues its upward trend. Since climbing out of last place in June, the Austin market remains in negative territory, with negative 0.9 percent rent growth, but is no longer among the bottom three markets.
Portland is the only Pacific market with negative rent growth. Rent growth has been negative in the Portland market throughout the year, thanks to weak demand and a struggling downtown core. In August, rents in Portland fell annually by 0.1 percent.
Get more multifamily insights
Explore what’s been going on in the multifamily market this year with the latest analysis from CoStar’s Grant Montgomery, including the outlook for the remainder of 2026. Watch now:
