Rent Concessions and Morning Cookies
In competitive markets, the favored concession isn’t going away. But layering on more doesn’t have to hurt your bottom line.
You know all those jokes about dogs finagling a second breakfast? That’s not what happens at my house. I’m lucky if mine eats any breakfast. Even before daycare, where he has to last a good 12 hours on whatever he ate before he got there. As a puppy, he’d get cranky with both other dogs and caregivers toward the end of the day there. Worried that he’d get kicked out for misbehavior, I started a routine that has become an expectation: I give him one of his favorite home-baked cookies every morning, regardless of whether he eats breakfast. If he’s hungry enough, he’ll also eat breakfast, but if he isn’t, at least I know he has something in his stomach. Five years later, we’re still doing it.
If you’re not a dog lover like me, then pardon the comparison. But the month-free apartment concession has taken a similar path. Where competition is high for renters, concessions are a necessity. And with the first month free remaining the No. 2 preference among renters according to Zillow’s latest Consumer Housing Trends Report (after reduced rent, which, let’s face it, is probably least preferred by landlords), not offering it when everyone else does is not the best way to attract prospects. So it becomes a given.
And yet, when everyone else offers it too, it’s not exactly a differentiator. It’s like having in-unit washer-dryers or a swimming pool—it keeps you on the list but doesn’t help you rise to the top. That requires additional concessions, and that’s where you can get creative. What do your renters most value about your community? About the surrounding neighborhood? Is there a popular nearby attraction you could get them access to? How can you save them money on things they’ll actually use without detracting too much from your ever-narrowing bottom line?
While renters prefer to save money, there are other benefits you can layer on that also matter, as Matthew Kaufman points out in this month’s feature article, “Apartment Concessions Get a Makeover.” If you can develop a strong reputation for great service, that can make a big difference, too.
If you’re thinking none of this applies to you, think again. Because the number of listings including a concession continues to rise. According to Zillow’s most recent data, 39.7 percent of rental listings on its site offered them in June, up from 35.2 percent the previous year, with well over 50 percent of listings including them in a number of major cities across the South and Midwest. And our ranking of the Top Multifamily Property Management Companies of 2026, which this year features the 65 leading firms, with more than 4.1 million units across nearly 18,800 communities, 28 percent reported concessions across 50 percent or more of their portfolio, and 66 percent across at least 10 percent of their portfolio.
When demand catches back up to supply, concessions will likely drop again. They were lower pre-Covid, after all. But that one month’s free rent will not go away entirely. Kind of like my dog’s morning cookie.
