Nevertheless, Zillow found that rents now consume a smaller share of income—26.5%—approaching the pre-pandemic level of 25.8%. But a household income of $76,400 is required to comfortably afford a rental, 1.7% more than in March 2025 and 35% more than pre-pandemic. And rent affordability is 0.4% down from 2025.
Multifamily rents rose 1.3% to $1,757 in March. Since the beginning of the pandemic, they have gone up 28%. The sharpest rises, ranging from 6.5% to 4.6%, were in Virginia Beach, San Francisco, Chicago, San Jose and Providence.
Despite the fact that rents have climbed, 40% of rentals on Zillow offered concessions in March – a share that rose 0.6 ppts month-over-month. However, concessions dropped on a monthly basis in 17 major metros, including Milwaukee, San Francisco, Salt Lake City, Minneapolis and Kansas City. But the use of concessions increased on a monthly basis in 33 major metros, led by Indianapolis, New Orleans and Memphis. On an annual basis, in 30 of the 50 largest metros, Tampa outpaced the rest.
Source: GlobeSt.
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