Sticky advertised rental decline continues pressing the multifamily market.
Highlights:
- The average U.S. advertised asking rent slid $4 to $1,743 in October, up 0.5% year-over-year.
- Just two of Matrix’s top 30 markets experienced rent growth month-over-month, with the average national figure ticking down 0.2%.
- During the third quarter, multifamily absorption clocked in at 110,000 units, below the average of 185,000 recorded in the first and second quarters.
- SFR-BTR average advertised rents declined $6 to $2,195 in October, unchanged from last year.
Previous short-lived problems transition to medium-term issues
The national multifamily market continued a weak showing as the average advertised rent fell $4 to $1,743 in October. Year-over-year rent growth remained unchanged at 0.5%. Gateway and Midwestern markets posted the strongest gains, with New York taking the lead (4.7%), followed by Chicago (3.9%), San Francisco (3.4%) and Twin Cities (2.9%). Sun Belt and Western metros had a subdued rent growth, such as Austin (-4.8%), Denver (-4.1%), Phoenix (-3.3%) and Las Vegas (-1.7%).
Overall advertised rents slid 0.2% month-over-month in October. Lifestyle rates dragged the index lower, dropping 30 basis points, as opposed to Renter-by-Necessity, which fell just 10 basis points. Just two out of the top 30 Yardi Matrix markets registered any gains, those being New Jersey and Detroit (0.1% each). The steepest declines occurred across New York (-1.7%), Austin (-1.0%), Raleigh and Denver (-0.8% each). Notably, none of these top markets recorded an increase in Lifestyle rates, while RBN rate movement was slightly more split, yet still heavily tilted toward negative growth, with 20 metros being in the red.
The average multifamily occupancy clocked in at 94.7% in September, up 10 basis points year-over-year. Occupancy gains were recorded in Atlanta (up 0.9% year-over-year), Charlotte (0.5%), Phoenix, Nashville and Orlando (0.3% each), despite being high-supply markets.
Absorption stumbles with the largest decline felt across the Midwest
Although occupancy remained stable, just 110,000 units were absorbed during the third quarter. By historical standards, the figure may not be bad, but it signals a downward trend when compared to the average of 2025’s first two quarters—185,000 apartments. This deceleration was heightened across the Midwest (down 75% quarter-over-quarter), followed by the Southeast (55%), Southwest (43%), West (35%) and Northeast (29%). Among the Matrix top 30 markets, Charlotte, Austin, Nashville and Raleigh-Durham had more than 5% of stock absorbed year-to-date through September.
Single-family build-to-rent rates ticked down $6 to $2,195 in October, unchanged from last year. Midwest markets saw the largest increases, such as Twin Cities and Chicago (7.0% each) and Grand Rapids (5.4%), while weak rent growth was found across Austin (-4.2%), Jacksonville (-1.9%), Nashville (-1.3%) and Dallas (-1.0%). Meanwhile, the sector’s overall occupancy rate was strong at 95.1% in September, increasing 10 basis points year-over-year.
Read the full Yardi Matrix Multifamily National Market Report: October 2025.
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