AUSTIN, Texas – The U.S. rental market continues to favor renters, and a new wave of supply may keep it that way.
According to Realtor.com’s April Rental Report, the national median asking monthly rent across the 50 largest metropolitan areas fell to $1,673 in April, down $29, or 1.7%, year-over-year, marking the 33rd consecutive month of annual declines for zero- to two-bedroom properties. And the robustness of new multifamily construction signals that rental supply relief could continue into the next several years.
While the national median remains $254 (17.9%) above prepandemic levels recorded in April 2019, it has fallen $92 (-5.2%) from its August 2022 peak. The multifamily construction pipeline, though pulling back from its historic peak, remains 11.4% above prepandemic norms, and a fresh surge in new groundbreakings suggests the downward pressure on rents is not over, according to the report.
“Many renters have experienced meaningful relief over the past nearly three years, and although completions have slowed, forward-looking indicators are renter friendly,” said Danielle Hale, chief economist at Realtor.com. “New multifamily groundbreakings jumped nearly 20% in the first quarter of 2026, and units that break ground today typically reach the market within 12 to 24 months – so the pipeline points to continued downward pressure on rents well into 2027.”
The national multifamily construction pipeline remains well above historical norms, even as it pulls back from its peak. The number of multifamily constructions currently being built averaged 684,000 units on a seasonally adjusted annual rate in the first quarter, down from a peak of 971,000 in the first quarter of 2024 but still 11.4% above the prepandemic average of 614,000, according to the report.
New construction activity picked up sharply in early 2026, with the rate of new multifamily groundbreakings jumping nearly 20% compared with a year ago and running 21.3% above prepandemic levels. While the annual completion rate of 470,000 trails behind a year ago, it is still 23% above the prepandemic norm. If that pace holds, the total U.S. rental housing stock is on track to grow to over 50.5 million units by the first quarter of 2027, a level 8.5% higher than before the pandemic, the report says.
The regional picture, however, is uneven. The Northeast saw new multifamily groundbreakings nearly double year-over-year in the first quarter, and the number of newly completed multifamily units jumped 42.1%, the strongest growth of any region. The West tells a more cautionary tale. New groundbreakings there fell to their lowest first-quarter level since at least 2017, and the number of newly completed multifamily units dropped 37.9% year-over-year, the only region where completions have fallen below prepandemic norms, the report says.
“The story isn’t the same in every region, and that matters for where renters will feel relief next,” said Jiayi Xu, an economist at Realtor.com. “The Northeast is already seeing new multifamily units come online and rents respond in some large markets. The West is telling a very different story. Renters there who are benefiting from lower rents today may find that window closing as fewer new multifamily units enter the market.”