Rent prices have skyrocketed in the past few years, but renters might be finding a bit of an edge now. More rentals are sitting empty — leading landlords to look for ways to sweeten the pot.
Zillow said the share of listings offering incentives, like free parking or a few weeks rent-free, is up to 33.2%. That is a big difference compared to August 2023, when only 25.4% of landlords were offering incentives.
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Zillow also said it found six metro areas where these deals are especially popular. More than half the rental listings on Zillow are offering incentives in Raleigh, North Carolina; Charlotte, North Carolina; Atlanta, Georgia; Salt Lake City, Utah; Nashville, Tennessee; and Austin, Texas.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, housing accounted for almost 90% of the monthly increase in consumer prices across the economy in July, up 5.1% from last year. Zillow also said apartment rents are still getting more expensive, also up 5.1% over the past two years.
However, there has been a building boom for apartments and that is working in renters’ favor.
In June 2024, nearly 60,000 multifamily units were completed across the United States, according to government data — the biggest increase in supply since 1973. That made it harder for landlords to fill some units. The rental vacancy rate is 6.6%, the highest it has been since the winter of 2021.