Housing a little more affordable at year-end
Vacancies Push Landlords to Deal, Making Renting More Affordable
Median income renters found housing a little more affordable at year-end as asking rents slipped – partly due to continuing high vacancies and concessions from landlords. These were the most affordable conditions in more than four years, according to Zillow’s rental market report for December 2025.
In December this year, 26.5% of a new renter’s household income would have been required to cover asking rent, which fell 0.2% nationwide from November levels to $1,901. That was the lowest share since August 2021 and an improvement on the peak of 27.6% required in May 2023.
In December, a household would have needed to earn $76,020 – 2.2% more year-over-year – to comfortably afford the typical rental. Helpfully, apartment rents fell 0.3% to $1,741 during the month, still 1.5% higher than the previous December. In 16 large metro areas, rents fell year-over-year, including in Austin, Denver and Tampa.
Rent growth was strongest in Virginia Beach, San Francisco and Chicago.
Single-family rents fared better, climbing 43.6% since the pandemic, compared to 26.7% for apartments. The disparity is partly due to fewer single-family homes on the market than apartments. In December, single-family rents climbed 2.8% to $2,181 year-over-year, increasing in all 50 metro areas studied. Milwaukee held the lead, followed closely by Providence and Cleveland.
In general, renters were in strong negotiating positions because landlord concessions reached a record high, reflecting persistently high vacancy rates and stiff competition among landlords. In all, 39.5% of Zillow rentals included concessions in December, up 1.44 percentage points from the previous year.
Fewer concessions were offered on a monthly basis in 26 major metros, including Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Baltimore and Virginia Beach.
In 24 metros, the share of rentals with concessions increased, especially in Pittsburgh, Memphis, Kansas City, Louisville and Salt Lake City, in some cases to higher levels than in 2024.
The most affordable metros for rents relative to income are Austin, Salt Lake City, Raleigh, Minneapolis and Denver. The least affordable areas are Miami, New York, Los Angeles, Riverside and San Diego.
Zillow forecasts that rent growth will continue to cool in the year ahead, with multifamily rents flat and single-family rent growth slipping further to 1.6%.
Source: GlobeSt.
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