Study shows rent prices are dropping in Nashville

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — A recent Realtor.com report shows median rent prices continue to drop nationwide.

In Nashville and some surrounding cities, rent prices dropped by 8.4% from April 2023 to April of this year, the biggest percentage drop of the 50 metropolitan areas listed in the report.

With Nashville rapidly growing, it would be fair to assume that rent prices would be soaring across the city. In reality, the supply is still outpacing the demand.

“There’s been about 30,000 units under construction for the past two or three years,” explained Joel Sanders, founder and CEO of Apartment Insiders in Nashville. “That’s a big increase to the overall supply of apartments and rental properties in Nashville.”

That means rent prices are staying down, for now.

“I think what you’re seeing right now is a blimp on the map,” Sanders said. “Once the market hits equilibrium, things will change. How quickly and how fast do [prices] go up, I think that’s yet to be seen.”

Across the country, Realtor’s report indicated that two of the three most expensive median rents from April are in California: San Jose ($3,318) and San Diego ($2,888). In between those two is Boston at $2,926.

In the southern part of the nation and closer to Nashville, those numbers are significantly lower. For example, median rent on a 0-2 bedroom unit in the Louisville, Kentucky, area is $1,219. In and around Atlanta, it’s $1,611 a month.

“2024 is going to remain a pretty good year to rent. And I would say this, I will go a little bit further and say I think 2025, the rental market is going to be soft and rents are going to kind of stay flat. What happens in 2026, I think, is the year to watch,” said Sanders.

It might be a renter’s market currently, but that doesn’t mean you can’t start a plan to buy in the near future, especially with rental prices avoiding a spike.

“Save every dollar you can for that down payment. That will make you, when you go to buy a house, less sensitive to interest rates if you can put down a big fat down payment,” said Sanders.

U.S. median rent has declined year over year for the ninth month in a row, going back to April, according to this report. One region that has not seen such luck in their rental prices: the Midwest. Renters in the metropolitan regions of Indianapolis, Milwaukee, and Minneapolis are facing new record high rents, Realtor.com said.