National Multifamily Report – August 2026
Advertised rent growth rate reached the highest reading in almost a year.
U.S. advertised asking rents increased $2 in August to $1,773, marking an annual improvement of 0.4 percent, 20 basis points above the 2025 figure, according to Yardi Matrix’s latest survey of 140 markets. This represented the largest growth rate in nearly a year. Single-family build-to-rent rates retained their record of $2,246, up 0.5 percent year-over-year.
Gateway markets continued outperforming alongside Midwestern ones, although these metros have experienced cooling momentum. San Francisco (6.1 percent year-over-year advertised rent growth), New York (5.3 percent), Kansas City, Mo. (3.0 percent), Chicago (2.6 percent) and Twin Cities (2.4 percent) posted solid results. The supply-demand balance continues shifting toward a more favorable direction as deliveries temper and the pipeline shrinks, resulting in several high-supply markets logging less negative rent movement, such as Austin, Texas (-2.8 percent), Denver (-2.0 percent) and Tampa (-1.8 percent). Occupancy levels remained steady at 94.2 percent in July, down 0.5 percent year-over-year.
One of the best August performances in recent years
Advertised rents increased 0.1 percent short-term, marking one of the best performances for the month in recent years, although the gain was still under the pre-pandemic benchmark. Pricing power remained limited as nearly half of Matrix’s top 30 markets posted either flat or negative rent growth. Alongside Baltimore, San Francisco led monthly charts with a 0.5 percent improvement. The Bay Area stands out as tech and AI-related job growth continues bolstering demand in a limited-supply environment.
Starts and deliveries dropped by nearly one-third compared to their cyclical high registered between 2023 and 2024, creating expectations of future rent growth. Still, the increase is modest overall and negative in the Sun Belt due in large part to a significant portion of units in lease-up. Nationally, there were 1.2 million new apartments awaiting tenants in August, down from the 1.4 million peak of 2025, though still double the market average logged during the previous decade.
Advertised single-family build-to-rent rates remained unchanged month-over-month at the record reading of $2,246, up 0.5 percent year-over-year. Performance was uneven, with large spreads between regions and product types. Growth rate diverged by more than 10 percent between Miami, the top performer with a 5.4 percent annual increase, and San Antonio, where rents compressed by 5.5 percent on account of elevated supply levels. Renter-by-Necessity properties outperformed Lifestyle assets with a spread of 170 basis points. Even as high mortgage rates should prolong renter tenure and boost SF-BTR demand, occupancy was down 20 basis points annually to 94.8 percent in July.
