Single-family rental prices weakened year over year in most large U.S. metro areas in July, a sign of slowing demand after a strong first half of 2025.

The updated Single-Family Rent Index (SFRI) published Thursday by real estate market analytics firm Cotality shows national rent prices have dipped below the lower bound of a 10-year average of pre-pandemic growth.

“After a strong start to the year, single-family rent growth is clearly losing steam,” said Molly Boesel, senior principal economist at Cotality. “The monthly growth rate came in at just 0.2%, well below the historical July average of 0.7%,” she added, citing a notable shift from the “stronger-than-usual monthly gains” recorded earlier in the year.

Rent prices for detached single-family homes and condominiums fared slightly better than attached single-family rentals in July, appreciating 2.2% annually compared to 1.8%.

Upward pressure on rent appreciation through the first half of 2025 stemmed in part from a surge in demand. Affordability challenges drove a 2.6% increase in renter households and a decline in the homeowner population during the second quarter.

Now, even metros like Los Angeles, which experienced a boost in rental demand following January’s Palisades and Eaton wildfires, are cooling off, Cotality reports.

Concurrently, purchase conditions are improving for sidelined homebuyers as inventories rise and home prices soften, especially among entry-level homes. Over the past two weeks, mortgage rates have declined sharply to 11-month lows, driving a spike in mortgage applications.

Average rent prices still rose nationally in July but the rate of annual rent growth weakened across all price levels.

Rents moderated more significantly across lower-priced units, falling to 1.6% of annual appreciation in July compared to 2.8% a year earlier. Rents for high-end properties rose 2.9% year over year in July, a slowdown from 3.2% appreciation in July 2024.

Metro areas that exhibited the strongest annual appreciation in single-family rental prices were Chicago (5.1%), New York (3.7%), Philadelphia (3.4%), Los Angeles (3.1%) and Washington, D.C. (2.9%).

However, among those five markets, Chicago, New York and Washington, D.C., all saw stronger rent appreciation in July 2024 to July 2025, signaling the cooling trend.