A “for rent” sign hangs outside of an apartment building in San Francisco, on Dec. 4, 2025. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Potential renters on the sidelines waiting for rents to go down may be in luck, as the average vacancy rates have reached a multi-year high in 44 of the United States’s 50 largest metros.
In its January rental report, released on Feb. 17, Realtor.com said that the average vacancy rate for apartments reached 7.6 percent in 2025—jumping from 7.2 percent in 2024. It also noted that January marked the 29th consecutive month of year-over-year rent declines, with the national median rent dropping by 1.5 percent to $1,672 for all apartment sizes.
