The Sun Belt Metros Where Renters Are Finding the Deepest Price Relief

While asking rents in all of the top 50 U.S. metros were below their all-time peaks in February, 15 well-supplied Sun Belt markets stood out for offering tenants the deepest discounts in years. 

Led by Austin, TX—the region’s premier technology hub—this cluster of Western and Southern metros has seen rents retreat by at least 10% from their highest COVID-19 pandemic-era benchmarks, according to the Realtor.com® February rental report.

In inventory-rich Austin, which has experienced a boom in multifamily construction in recent years, the median asking rent plunged to $1,357 in February, down 18.2% from its September 2022 peak. 

For the average Austin renter, this rent reset translates into roughly $300 in savings per month. 

Additionally, the median rent in Austin recorded its 34th consecutive year-over-year decrease in February.

In a telling sign, all 15 markets on the list have experienced year-over-year declines from their peaks, cementing a multiyear post-pandemic correction that has resulted in fundamental shifts to renters' benefit.

"Far from a brief softness, these declines have proven remarkably sustained—particularly across Sun Belt and Southern markets, where a boom in multifamily construction has tipped the supply-demand balance in renters' favor," says Realtor.com economist Jiayi Xu.

Texas' renter-friendly tech hub

Austin's emergence as a renter's haven is a textbook case of supply and demand.

Last year, Austin recorded the second-highest rental vacancy rate across the top 50 metros, at 13.8%, offering renters more choices, shifting leverage away from landlords, and resulting in staggering asking price softening.

The only major U.S. metro that outpaced Austin in vacancies in 2025 was Birmingham, AL, which recorded a rate of 14.3%.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Southern city ranked second for total rent relief in February. The median rent in Birmingham plummeted 17.1% from its July 2022 peak, to just $1,125 in February—the lowest price point among the 15 cities on the list. 

Equally renter-friendly Memphis, TN, came in third, with the median rent there shedding 16.1% from its July 2022 peak, settling at $1,140 last month, followed by Phoenix, where the rent relief amounted to 15.6% compared to the market’s high point in June 2022. 

Atlanta rounded out the top five, delivering renters 15.2% in savings compared to the market’s October 2021 peak. 

Atlanta has also become a standout for its sheer persistence, recording its 42nd consecutive month of annual rent decreases, signaling a long-term rebalancing. 

Las Vegas, which tied Phoenix for second in consecutive months of year-over-year rent easing, at 41, came in sixth place when it comes to rent relief.

The typical tenant in Sin City saw $248 in monthly savings thanks to the median rent decreasing by 14.8% over the past four years. 

High-priced San Diego was seventh, delivering 14.3% in rent savings, followed by Nashville, TN, with 13.9%, and Raleigh, NC, with 13.4%. 

Paul Bullington, owner of Realty Executives Hometown Living in Nashville, tells Realtor.com that the biggest factor driving down rents has been new construction.

"Thousands of new multifamily units were delivered between 2023 and 2025, which increased supply faster than renter demand could absorb it," says Bullington. "That pushed vacancy rates higher and forced rents to level off or decline."

Beyond supply and demand, many Sun Belt metros like Nashville and Austin have undergone a significant post-pandemic market correction.

"Nashville experienced extremely rapid rent growth from 2020–22 as population growth and in-migration surged," says Bullington. "What we’re seeing now is the market rebalancing after that spike."

However, the real estate agent stresses that this trend does not mean that rent prices in Nashville are collapsing.

"They aren't. What’s really happening is moderation after an extremely fast growth cycle. Even with recent declines, rents are still far higher than they were pre-pandemic," says Bullington. The metro still has strong population and job growth, which continues to create housing demand.

"The current softness is largely due to a temporary supply surge, not a long-term drop in demand," he adds.

For the overall housing market, easing rents mean that many would-be first-time homebuyers stay on the sidelines longer than they otherwise would have.

"When renting becomes relatively more affordable and buying remains expensive due to prices or interest rates, many households choose to rent longer while they save for a down payment or wait for market conditions to improve," according to Bullington.

Other major markets that have shifted toward renters for similar reasons, leaving more money in their budgets each month, were Denver, San Antonio, TX, Miami, Jacksonville, FL, Seattle, and Dallas.  

A snapshot of the national rental market

February marked a four-year low for national median asking rents and the 30th straight month of year-over-year rent declines, with the typical asking rent shrinking by $29, or 1.7%, compared with the same period in 2025. 

The median rent across the 50 largest U.S. metros was $1,667 last month, down $90 from its summer 2022 peak.

"This is a result of both a prolonged year-over-year downtrend and February’s seasonal softness," explains Xu. "Looking ahead, as the market transitions into spring, month-over-month change is expected to turn positive, bringing modest price increases typical of the peak leasing season."

Median asking rents fell year over year across all unit sizes, with two-bedrooms seeing the largest annual decline of 1.9%, registering at $1,844 in February.

The rent for one-bedroom units slid 1.5%, settling at $1,548, while the typical rent for a studio inched down by just 0.4%, to $1,393.