Zumper National Rent Report

The Zumper National Rent Index showed the median one-bedroom rent fell 0.3% month-over-month to $1,515, while two-bedroom rent held roughly flat, up 0.01% to $1,907. On an annual basis, one-bedroom rent is now down 0.1%, slipping slightly back into negative territory after last month’s flat reading, while two-bedroom rent’s annual gain widened to 0.5% from 0.1% the month before, its sixth straight month of annual improvement.

“The national numbers are starting to look more constructive, but I still wouldn’t call this a broad recovery,” says Zumper CEO Shawn Mullahy. “Supply remains the dividing line. Markets that worked through their inventory are beginning to tighten, while places that absorbed enormous amounts of new construction are still giving renters meaningful leverage. What’s changed is that the supply wave is clearly receding. The question now is how quickly demand can absorb what’s left.”

U.S. apartment occupancy held at 95.5% in the second quarter of 2026, a second straight quarterly gain, as the nation absorbed more than 187,000 units, according to RealPage Market Analytics. New deliveries have now declined for six straight quarters since completions peaked in late 2024. However, about a quarter of apartments nationally were still offering concessions as of the second quarter, a sign that a lot of what got built during that peak is still filling up.