While Q4 performance stirs concerns, GDP growth suggests positive momentum
SANTA BARBARA, Calif., January 13, 2026 – A decline in U.S. advertised multifamily rents in December 2025 nullified year-over-year rent growth from earlier in the year, new research from Yardi® Matrix documents.
The average U.S. advertised rent fell $5 to $1,737 in December, a 0.3% month-over-month decline that closed out 2025 with 0% year-over-year growth. The market’s weakest quarterly showing since the global financial crisis raises “concerns about near-term multifamily demand,” Yardi Matrix notes in a new national multifamily report.
“Demand has slowed amid flattening job growth and the impact of immigration policy,” the report says, even as occupancy has held firm and supply absorption remains healthy by historical standards.
Rent growth in 2025 was concentrated in coastal markets and the Midwest. The weakest performance was largely confined in the Sun Belt, where elevated new supply weighed on pricing.
Sales volume in 2025 totaled about 10% higher than 2024’s total, with activity highest in secondary and Sun Belt markets such as Dallas, Seattle, Phoenix, Miami and Atlanta.
Looking to the new year, Yardi Matrix analysts note that “despite ongoing economic uncertainty, GDP growth in the fourth quarter points to improving momentum. Greater stability in 2026 could help lift consumer confidence and support a gradual rebound in rental demand.”
Get more insights on rents, occupancy, transactions and the single-family build-to-rent segment in the Yardi Matrix National Multifamily Report for December 2025.
Yardi Matrix offers the industry’s most comprehensive market intelligence tool for investment professionals, equity investors, lenders and property managers who underwrite and manage investments in commercial real estate. Yardi Matrix covers multifamily, single-family rentals/build to rent, affordable housing, student housing, self storage, office, industrial, retail and vacant land property types. Email [email protected], call (480) 663-1149 or visit yardimatrix.com to learn more.
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