Annual rent growth in October 2025 slowed for the fourth consecutive month.
- U.S. single-family rent prices increased 0.9% year over year in October 2025.
- Forty of the largest 50 U.S. metros had lower annual rent growth in October 2025 than in October 2024.
- Chicago, Illinois had the largest rent increase in October 2025 at 4.6%.
Cotality, a leading global property information, analytics, and data-enabled solutions provider, released its latest Single-Family Rent Index (SFRI) with October 2025 data, which analyzes single-family rent price changes nationally and across major metropolitan areas. Single-family rent prices in October 2025 increased 0.9% from October 2024, which is significantly less than the 2.8% increase recorded between October 2023 and October 2024.
“Forty of the largest 50 metros posted lower annual rent growth compared to October 2024. Eighteen metros saw outright year-over-year declines in the Single-Family Rent Index, with half of those declines occurring in Florida,” said Molly Boesel, senior principal economist at Cotality. “While this moderation is notable, rents remain elevated compared to pre-pandemic levels. Annual growth peaked in March 2022, and even after three years of slowing, the national index in October was still 9% higher than the 2022 average level. This trend reflects a normalization process rather than a reversal, as affordability challenges and regional dynamics continue to shape rent performance.”
“For mortgage brokers working with investor clients, the ‘normalization’ of the market is a sign of long-term health,” added Kyle Concannon, VP of Product & Wholesale, Constructive Capital. “While the explosive rent growth of previous years has cooled, the fact that rents are not ‘reversing’ (outside of specific correction markets like Florida) suggests a stable environment for rental property acquisitions. Brokers can help investors find opportunities in resilient ‘Midwest metros’ like Chicago and Detroit, which continue to lead the nation in growth.”
Rent for high-end properties increased 1.4% year over year in October 2025, a drop from the 3.3% gain recorded in October 2024. Low-end property prices increased 0.4% year over year in October 2025, a drop from a 2.7% gain in October 2024.
Rent growth for detached rentals went up 0.8% in October 2025, while it increased 1% for attached rentals.
The ongoing slowdown in single-family rent growth reflects broader market adjustments. While national growth remains positive, regional differences are increasingly clear. Florida metros, including Cape Coral and North Port, posted two consecutive years of annual declines, signaling a correction in markets that previously experienced outsized gains. In contrast, Midwest metros such as Chicago and Detroit continue to demonstrate resilience.
Price segment performance highlights shifting dynamics in demand for rentals. While both high-end and lower-end rentals have slowed, deceleration is more pronounced for lower-end properties. This suggests that affordability challenges and economic pressures weigh more heavily on budget-conscious renters, while demand for higher-priced rentals, though moderating, remains relatively more resilient.
Among the 10 largest metro areas, Chicago remained at the top of the list for the highest rent growth, at 4.6% in October 2025. Washington, D.C., and Detroit, MI, were significantly behind Chicago with rent growth at 2.4% year over year. Philadelphia (2.2%) and Los Angeles (0.6%) rounded up the top 5 cities with the highest rent growth in October 2025. Dallas continues to have the lowest rent growth in the nation, with rents declining -1.3%.
The next Cotality Single-Family Rent Index will be released on January 15, featuring data for November 2025. For ongoing housing trends and data, visit the Cotality Insights blog: www.cotality.com/insights.
About Cotality
Cotality accelerates data, insights, and workflows across the property ecosystem to enable industry professionals to surpass their ambitions and impact society. With billions of real-time data signals across the life cycle of a property, we unearth hidden risks and transformative opportunities for agents, lenders, carriers, and innovators. Get to know us at www.cotality.com.
Media Contact
Charity Head
Cotality
