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- More landlords across the US are offering rental perks to attract renters, according to Zillow.
- The housing supply has increased post-pandemic, giving renters more options.
- Cities including New York and Miami saw fewer rental concessions than average, due to tighter rental markets.
Apartment landlords are offering massive concessions to draw renters across the US, but not all cities are trying equally hard to drum up new tenants.
In July, six metro areas — Raleigh, Charlotte, Atlanta, Salt Lake City, Nashville, and Austin — saw more than half their listings on Zillow offering rental concessions, per a Monday blog post from the online real estate marketplace. These perks ranged from free parking to a few weeks of rent-free tenancy.
The surge in rental concessions comes amid increasing apartment supply after new builds were started to meet rising rents during the pandemic, wrote Skylar Olsen, Zillow's chief economist.
Rental vacancy rates nationwide remained at 6.6% for the second quarter of 2024, a record since 2021 and the same level for the last year, per Zillow. Higher vacancy rates mean renters have more options, and landlords have to work harder to win them over.
While rents across the country have increased 3.4% year-over-year, according to Zillow, concessions for renters have also risen for the past two years. The share of rental listings with concessions jumped from 19.4% in July 2022 to 33.2% last month, Zillow reported.
The rise in rental concessions could offer some relief to renters changing homes. Renters have long struggled with soaring rental prices nationwide, often dedicating a substantial portion of their income to rent, BI reported in January.
However, New York and Miami renters, who have struggled with affordability gaps, won't see as many concessions. Both cities scored some of the lowest concession rates for the month, at 15.9% and 17.4% for New York and Miami, respectively. New York has built comparably few apartments, compared with other cities, in recent years, while Miami has seen a flood of new residents in recent years.
Other cities have even fewer concessions: Just 10% of New Orleans buildings are offering such perks, and San Jose, Baltimore, Milwaukee, and Pittsburgh saw a year-over-year decline in listings offering concessions, according to Zillow.
"Rents are still growing, but it's a far cry from the steep rent hikes of two or three years ago, and renters will find sweeteners being offered by more than half of rentals in some places," wrote Zillow's Olsen. "A slowing job market and lower mortgage rates could mean falling rents if the current trends hold."