Free rent and parking are examples of rent concessions that more landlords are offering in some markets to attract tenants, according to Zillow.
More of the site’s rental listings are featuring some sort of concession compared to last year, the company says, adding that about 30% of rentals on Zillow offer at least one concession, up from 24% last year.
In most cases landlords are not lowering the rental prices, just offering the rent concessions.
Where are apartment hunters getting the most sweeteners?
Rental concessions are more common than a year ago in 43 of the 50 biggest U.S. metro areas. Salt Lake City (54%), San Jose (51%) and Washington, D.C. (50%) all had half or more of the listings in their markets offering at least one concession on Zillow, followed by Charlotte (48%) and Minneapolis (47%).
Cities where renters will find the fewest concessions are New Orleans (9%), Providence (14%), Miami (14%) and New York (15%).
Markets where concessions have risen the most since last year — meaning the market is now friendlier for renters — are Salt Lake City, where the share of listings featuring a concession rose 26 percentage points, followed by Charlotte (+21 percentage points), Columbus (+18), Dallas (+17) and Atlanta (+15).
Renters are less likely than they were a year ago to find a rental listing on Zillow offering a deal in only a handful of markets. Richmond leads the way, where the share of listings offering a concession dropped by five percentage points from last year, followed by Louisville (-4 percentage points), Providence (-4), Sacramento (-2), Washington, D.C. (-1) and Hartford (-1).
Markets With Most Construction Have Rent Incentives
Zillow says markets experiencing a construction boom are more likely to have seen an upswing in concessions. According to Fannie Mae’s mid-2023 multifamily construction update, markets such as Washington D.C, Dallas, and Austin are seeing more new developments, with Dallas and Austin having 74,000 and 66,000 new units either recently completed or underway, respectively.
Zillow’s data reveals a similar rise in concessions in those metros and others, including Phoenix and Atlanta, which are also among the top markets for new multifamily construction. This correlation highlights how the influx of new apartments is compelling housing providers to offer incentives to attract renters.
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