---
title: "43.5% of rental listings offered a concession in August; 18 metros topped 50%"
description: "Concessions now run on 43.5% of listings across the 50 largest metros, up 3.1 points in a year, with 18 markets above half. The advertised rent is no longer the price — and Census says the rental vacancy rate's latest annual move is not statistically significant."
date: 2026-09-19
updated: 2026-09-19
author: "Proppely Research Desk"
kind: NEWS_BRIEF
tags: ["rent-growth", "vacancy", "multifamily", "security-deposits", "economy"]
reading_minutes: 4
word_count: 986
canonical: "https://www.proppely.com/insights/rental-concessions-43-percent-listings-august-2026"
html: "https://www.proppely.com/insights/rental-concessions-43-percent-listings-august-2026"
feed: "https://proppely.com/insights/feed.xml"
license: "Free to read and cite with a link to the canonical URL."
sources:
  - title: "Realtor.com Monthly Rent Report: Rents Fall for 37th Straight Month as Concessions Give Renters More Leverage"
    url: "https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/realtorcom-monthly-rent-report-rents-fall-for-37th-straight-month-as-concessions-give-renters-more-leverage-302880836.html"
    publisher: "Realtor.com (via PR Newswire)"
    published: "2026-09-16"
  - title: "Quarterly Residential Vacancies and Homeownership, Second Quarter 2026 (CB26-116)"
    url: "https://www.census.gov/housing/hvs/files/qtr226/Q226press.pdf"
    publisher: "U.S. Census Bureau"
    published: "2026-07-27"
  - title: "Annual Rent Growth Strengthens as Apartment Market Recovery Continues"
    url: "https://www.realpage.com/analytics/august-2026-us-data-update/"
    publisher: "RealPage"
    published: "2026-09-02"
---

# 43.5% of rental listings offered a concession in August; 18 metros topped 50%

> Concessions now run on 43.5% of listings across the 50 largest metros, up 3.1 points in a year, with 18 markets above half. The advertised rent is no longer the price — and Census says the rental vacancy rate's latest annual move is not statistically significant.

## Key takeaways

- 43.5% of studio, one- and two-bedroom listings across the 50 largest metros carried a concession in August, up 3.1 percentage points from 40.4% a year earlier.
- In 18 metros more than half of listings offered one, led by Denver at 71.9%, Austin at 70.7% and Las Vegas at 69.6%.
- Median asking rent fell 0.9% to $1,699, the 37th straight month of annual declines — but asking rent excludes the concession, so effective rents are softer than the headline.
- Census put the rental vacancy rate at 7.3% in Q2 and says that is not statistically different from 7.0% a year earlier: elevated and flat, not visibly spiking.
- Among independent landlords who offered or considered concessions, 37.9% chose reduced or waived fees against 25.0% offering free rent, and 65.7% said they would not waive the security deposit.

Nearly half of rental listings now come with a discount attached. [43.5% of studio, one- and two-bedroom listings across the 50 largest metros offered a concession in August, up 3.1 percentage points from 40.4% a year earlier](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/realtorcom-monthly-rent-report-rents-fall-for-37th-straight-month-as-concessions-give-renters-more-leverage-302880836.html). In [18 of those metros, more than half of studio, one- and two-bedroom listings carried one](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/realtorcom-monthly-rent-report-rents-fall-for-37th-straight-month-as-concessions-give-renters-more-leverage-302880836.html). The advertised rent is no longer the price.

## What happened

Realtor.com's monthly rent report, [published September 17](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/realtorcom-monthly-rent-report-rents-fall-for-37th-straight-month-as-concessions-give-renters-more-leverage-302880836.html), put the national median asking rent at [$1,699, down 0.9% year over year — the 37th straight month of annual declines](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/realtorcom-monthly-rent-report-rents-fall-for-37th-straight-month-as-concessions-give-renters-more-leverage-302880836.html). By unit size: [studios at $1,436 (down 1.2%), one-bedrooms at $1,586 (down 0.8%) and two-bedrooms at $1,896 (down 0.9%)](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/realtorcom-monthly-rent-report-rents-fall-for-37th-straight-month-as-concessions-give-renters-more-leverage-302880836.html). Rents sit [$65, or 3.7%, below the summer 2022 peak and $227, or 15.4%, above August 2019](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/realtorcom-monthly-rent-report-rents-fall-for-37th-straight-month-as-concessions-give-renters-more-leverage-302880836.html).

The concession share is the number that moved. Realtor.com describes concessions as including [waived application fees, rent credits or a period of free rent](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/realtorcom-monthly-rent-report-rents-fall-for-37th-straight-month-as-concessions-give-renters-more-leverage-302880836.html). The heaviest markets were [Denver at 71.9%, Austin at 70.7%, Las Vegas at 69.6%, Nashville at 69.0% and San Antonio at 67.9%](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/realtorcom-monthly-rent-report-rents-fall-for-37th-straight-month-as-concessions-give-renters-more-leverage-302880836.html).

The vacancy framing needs care. The Census Bureau's Housing Vacancy Survey put the [rental vacancy rate at 7.3% in the second quarter, which Census says was not statistically different from the 7.0% recorded a year earlier and virtually the same as the 7.3% in the first quarter](https://www.census.gov/housing/hvs/files/qtr226/Q226press.pdf). The level is high against recent history — Census's table shows the [second-quarter rate at 5.6% in 2022 and 6.6% in 2024](https://www.census.gov/housing/hvs/files/qtr226/Q226press.pdf) — but the latest annual move is not one Census treats as a distinguishable change. Concessions are climbing against a vacancy rate that has flattened out at an elevated level, not one that is visibly spiking.

## Why it matters for property managers

**Asking rent and effective rent have come apart.** A concession sits on top of the advertised rent, so a median asking rent of [$1,699](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/realtorcom-monthly-rent-report-rents-fall-for-37th-straight-month-as-concessions-give-renters-more-leverage-302880836.html) describes the sticker, not the deal. One free month on a 12-month lease is about 8% off the year — that is just one divided by twelve — and none of it shows up in an asking-rent series. If you benchmark your rents against a published median, you are comparing your price against other people's stickers.

**Two credible series point in opposite directions, and both are right.** RealPage reported same-store effective asking rents [up 0.9% year over year in August, with occupancy at 95.5%](https://www.realpage.com/analytics/august-2026-us-data-update/). Realtor.com reported median asking rent [down 0.9%](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/realtorcom-monthly-rent-report-rents-fall-for-37th-straight-month-as-concessions-give-renters-more-leverage-302880836.html). They measure different things: RealPage tracks the same set of apartment properties over time — its "same-store" measure, while Realtor.com tracks the midpoint of what is advertised on its site across 50 metros, where the mix of listings shifts month to month. Use the first to judge how your asset is performing and the second to understand what a shopper sees.

**The concession-heavy markets are the ones already cutting rent.** RealPage had [San Antonio down 3.7% with occupancy at 93.1%, and Charlotte, Tampa and Houston near -2%](https://www.realpage.com/analytics/august-2026-us-data-update/). All four also appear on Realtor.com's [list of metros above 50%](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/realtorcom-monthly-rent-report-rents-fall-for-37th-straight-month-as-concessions-give-renters-more-leverage-302880836.html). Where both are true, discounting is not a lease-up tactic — it is the market price, and your renewal quotes are being measured against it.

**Landlords reach for fees before free rent.** In an Avail survey of independent landlords cited in the same report, among those facing high vacancy and weak demand, [33.3% actively offered concessions, 25.9% considered them and 24.1% lowered base rent instead](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/realtorcom-monthly-rent-report-rents-fall-for-37th-straight-month-as-concessions-give-renters-more-leverage-302880836.html). Among those who offered or considered concessions, [37.9% chose reduced or waived fees, 30.7% upgraded amenities, 25.0% offered free rent and 6.4% offered gift cards or moving assistance, while 65.7% said they would not waive the security deposit](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/realtorcom-monthly-rent-report-rents-fall-for-37th-straight-month-as-concessions-give-renters-more-leverage-302880836.html).

## What to do this week

This is general information, not legal or financial advice. Rules on concession disclosure, fees and deposits vary by state and city — confirm yours with local counsel before you change an offer.

1. **Calculate your effective rent and put it beside your comps.** Take annual rent, subtract the concession value, divide by the lease term. Do the same for your three closest competitors. If you have been comparing sticker to sticker, you do not know your real position.
2. **Price a concession against a base-rent cut of the same size.** A free month preserves the headline rent and resets at renewal; a lower base rent compounds into every future renewal. In a market running [down 3.7%](https://www.realpage.com/analytics/august-2026-us-data-update/), the concession is usually the cheaper of the two mistakes.
3. **Start with fees, not months.** Among Avail's independent landlords who offered or considered concessions, [37.9% chose reduced or waived fees — the most common option](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/realtorcom-monthly-rent-report-rents-fall-for-37th-straight-month-as-concessions-give-renters-more-leverage-302880836.html). A waived application or administrative fee costs you a fraction of a rent-free month and still moves a hesitant applicant.
4. **Leave the security deposit alone.** [65.7% of those landlords said they would not waive it](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/realtorcom-monthly-rent-report-rents-fall-for-37th-straight-month-as-concessions-give-renters-more-leverage-302880836.html), and it is your only cushion against damage and skips. Check your state's statute on deposit limits and return timing before touching it.
5. **Re-shop your own listings this week.** In [18 metros, more than half of competing listings carry a concession](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/realtorcom-monthly-rent-report-rents-fall-for-37th-straight-month-as-concessions-give-renters-more-leverage-302880836.html). If yours is the only one without, days-on-market will tell you inside two weeks — watch that, not your asking rent.
6. **Keep renewal strategy separate from new-lease strategy.** The concession fight is happening on new leases. With occupancy at [95.5%](https://www.realpage.com/analytics/august-2026-us-data-update/), a modest renewal increase on a sitting resident usually beats a vacancy plus a free month to backfill it.

## What we're watching

- **Next month's rent report,** and whether the concession share pushes past 45% heading into the slow season.
- **Census's third-quarter vacancy release.** A change Census calls statistically significant would reframe this; [7.3% against 7.0% a year earlier](https://www.census.gov/housing/hvs/files/qtr226/Q226press.pdf) does not.
- **Whether concessions keep spreading beyond the Sun Belt.** [Denver tops the list at 71.9%](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/realtorcom-monthly-rent-report-rents-fall-for-37th-straight-month-as-concessions-give-renters-more-leverage-302880836.html), and Seattle and Portland are on it too.
- **The gap between the two rent series.** If RealPage's [0.9% increase](https://www.realpage.com/analytics/august-2026-us-data-update/) turns negative, effective rents are deteriorating faster than asking rents show.
- **Fee scrutiny.** A concession strategy built on waiving fees may invite questions about why those fees were charged in the first place.

## FAQ

**What share of rental listings offer concessions right now?**

43.5% of studio, one- and two-bedroom listings across the 50 largest U.S. metros offered a concession in August 2026, up from 40.4% a year earlier. Realtor.com describes concessions as including waived application fees, rent credits or a period of free rent.

**Which rental markets have the most concessions?**

Denver led at 71.9%, followed by Austin at 70.7%, Las Vegas at 69.6%, Nashville at 69.0% and San Antonio at 67.9%. Eighteen metros in total had more than half of listings offering a concession.

**Are rents actually falling, or rising?**

It depends on the measure. Realtor.com's median asking rent across 50 metros fell 0.9% year over year to $1,699, while RealPage's same-store effective asking rents rose 0.9% with occupancy at 95.5%. The first tracks what is advertised, the second tracks the same units over time.

**Should I offer a free month or just lower the rent?**

A concession preserves your headline rent and expires at renewal, while a base-rent cut compounds into every future renewal. Among independent landlords who offered or considered concessions, reduced or waived fees were the most common choice at 37.9%, against 25.0% who offered free rent. Confirm local disclosure rules with counsel before changing an offer.

## Sources

1. [Realtor.com Monthly Rent Report: Rents Fall for 37th Straight Month as Concessions Give Renters More Leverage](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/realtorcom-monthly-rent-report-rents-fall-for-37th-straight-month-as-concessions-give-renters-more-leverage-302880836.html) — Realtor.com (via PR Newswire)
2. [Quarterly Residential Vacancies and Homeownership, Second Quarter 2026 (CB26-116)](https://www.census.gov/housing/hvs/files/qtr226/Q226press.pdf) — U.S. Census Bureau
3. [Annual Rent Growth Strengthens as Apartment Market Recovery Continues](https://www.realpage.com/analytics/august-2026-us-data-update/) — RealPage

---
Published by the Proppely Research Desk. Canonical: https://www.proppely.com/insights/rental-concessions-43-percent-listings-august-2026