An above-average performance pushed August readings into positive territory for the first time in several years.
Highlights:
- The average U.S. advertised asking rent edged up 0.4% year-over-year in August to $1,773.
- August logged the first gain for the month in years, though the rent growth was still below pre-pandemic levels.
- Lease-up units pressure rent growth, with the U.S. having 1.2 million such apartments as of August.
- SF-BTR average advertised rents maintained their all-time record in August at $2,246, representing a 0.5% yearly growth.
Gateway markets continue leading; Midwest struggles to keep up
The average advertised national multifamily asking rent increased by $2 to $1,773 in August, marking an annual increase of 0.4%. This is the largest growth in nearly a year, being 20 basis points above the 2025 reading. Gateway and Midwest markets continued their strong showing, although select Midwest metros experienced a slight slowdown. San Francisco (6.1% year-over-year) led the gains chart, followed by New York (5.3%), Kansas City (3.0%), Chicago (2.6%) and the Twin Cities (2.4%). While still negative, the rent movement in many high-supply markets showed signs of improvement, suggesting that pricing pressure driven by large inventories is gradually easing. Austin (-2.8%), Denver (-2.0%), Tampa (-1.8%), Houston (-1.7%) and Phoenix (-1.6%) reflect this trend.
August advertised rents were 0.1% above July figures, marking the first increase for the month in several years, though the gain is still below pre-pandemic values. Even so, only about half of Matrix’s top 30 markets registered short-term increases. Several gains, such as Denver and Orlando (0.3% each), provide a sharper insight into the performance of supply-heavy markets as completions and starts continue to adjust. Meanwhile, New York logged a -1.0% movement, indicating volatility rather than fundamental weakness.
Occupancy rate remained unchanged, clocking in at 94.2% in July, reflecting a 0.5% decline year-over-year. Issues remained widespread, with nearly all Matrix top 30 markets logging declines, with some of the steepest posted by Tampa (-1.2%), Washington, D.C., and Las Vegas (-0.9% each), as well as Houston and Columbus (-0.8% each). The sole outlier was San Francisco, with an increase of 50 basis points, as the metro continues to benefit from strong demand bolstered by tech and AI-related jobs and limited supply.
The lease-up process weighs on rental performance
Starts and deliveries ebbed one-third lower compared to their cyclical peaks recorded between 2023 and 2024, resulting in expectations of future rent growth. However, current performance is still modest or even negative across high-supply regions. Yardi Matrix correlates the number of units in the lease-up stages across a given metro with its rent growth rate. Some 1.2 million new units were awaiting tenants in August, down from the 1.4 million peak of early 2025. Markets such as Charlotte (11.6% lease-up apartments as percentage of stock), Austin (10.9%), Phoenix (9.8%), Nashville (8.9%), Orlando (8.5%) and Raleigh-Durham (8.1%) have experienced rent contractions as operators offer high concessions to stabilize new deliveries. Conversely, markets with fewer apartments in lease-up, including Detroit (2.1%), Baltimore (2.4%), Chicago (2.5%) and San Francisco (3.0%), have overperformed from a rent growth standpoint compared to Sun Belt metros.
Single-family build-to-rent rates remained on average at their record reading of $2,246 in August, marking a 0.5% annual increase. Performance varied greatly across regions, with product type also representing a differentiating factor. Miami led with a growth of 5.4% year-over-year, followed by many Midwest markets such as Grand Rapids, Cleveland-Akron and Kansas City (3.3% each) and Chicago (3.0%). Markets with elevated supply across the Southwest underwent rental contractions, such as San Antonio (-5.5%), Phoenix (-2.3%), Houston (-1.9%), Dallas (-1.1%) and Austin (-0.5%). The gap between Renter-by-Necessity and Lifestyle products clocked in at 170 basis points in favor of RBN. Meanwhile, occupancy levels were solid at 94.8% in July, though down 20 basis points year-over-year despite high mortgage rates that should prolong renter tenure and bolster demand.
Read the full Yardi Matrix Multifamily National Market Report: August 2026.
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