Renters Gain Advantage in Housing Market as Landlords Lose Leverage

_Renters had more leverage over landlords in 2025, according to a new report. _

Brandon Bell / Getty Images

Terry Lane

Thu, February 19, 2026 at 5:52 AM GMT+9 3 min read

Key Takeaways

Apartment vacancies increased to 7.6% in 2025, shifting the market in favor of renters.

A report from Realtor.com showed that landlords had the advantage in only six of the top 50 housing rental markets.

Rental vacancies have climbed primarily due to a wave of new apartment construction, as developers responded to mounting affordability pressures with a surge in supply.

For renters, 2025 was a good year—rents fell and new apartment buildings went up.

Rental vacancies rose to 7.6% nationwide in 2025, according to data from Realtor.com, up from 7.2% the prior year, tipping the balance of power toward renters over landlords. Of the top 50 metro areas, 27 posted increases in rental vacancies last year.

“After years of being squeezed by limited inventory, renters are finally seeing the supply wave work in their favor,” said Danielle Hale, Realtor.com chief economist. “While the market isn’t uniform everywhere, the broader trend is a move toward a much-needed equilibrium that allows for more flexibility and choice in the housing search."

Why This Matters to You

Housing costs have a significant impact on consumer spending and monetary policy, so a consumer-friendly rental market can boost the broader economy.

Markets with rental vacancies of 7% or higher are generally considered more favorable for renters, according to the report. And while conditions can vary by area, the report found that 44 of the top 50 U.S. metro areas favored renters or were considered balanced, with vacancy rates between 5% and 7%.

Rental Vacancies Vary by Location

As with home sales, the rental market can vary greatly by location.

For example, rental vacancies in Austin, Texas, jumped to 13.8% in 2025, up from 8.2% in the prior year. The portion of vacant apartments also increased in Buffalo, N.Y., Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Nashville, Tenn. and Jacksonville, Fla. The vacancy increase has been driven in large part by a surge in apartment construction.

Meanwhile, in Pittsburgh, Richmond, Va., and Louisville, Ky., the rental market shifted in favor of landlords in 2025.

“In the Sun Belt and parts of the Midwest, new construction is helping to create negotiating room for renters,” said Jiayi Xu, economist at Realtor.com. “But in traditionally more affordable areas like Richmond and Pittsburgh, the secret is out; rising demand from out-of-towners is starting to soak up that excess vacancy, proving that renter-friendliness can be fleeting if supply doesn’t keep pace with demand.”

New Construction Eases Affordability Crunch

Builders completed more than 500,000 rental units in 2025, according to RentCafe estimates, not far off the record high set in 2024. Not only are more apartments being built, but RentCafe also found that affordable housing construction grew by 73% in the five-year period between 2020 and 2024, compared with the prior period.

Story Continues  

“Elevated home prices and a shortage of attainable for-sale housing are pushing more residents toward rentals,” wrote Doug Ressler, senior analyst at commercial real estate data firm Yardi Matrix. “For many households, single-family home ownership is simply out of reach—fueling demand for rental housing.”

The increase in apartment construction is also helping to lower rent payments, which fell 1.5% in January from last year. Nationwide, rents have declined for 29 straight months and are now down almost 5% from their summer 2022 peak.

However, just as with the housing market, affordability remains a concern. While rents have dipped recently, they’re still more than 15% higher than before the pandemic.

Read the original article on Investopedia

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