Concessions rise across new buildings, giving tenants room to negotiate pricing and terms
By Katherine Lutge
Renters in 2026 should have greater leverage to negotiate their leases as the rental market faces rising vacancy rates, one top agent said. The reason is a development boom that began during the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to a surge of luxury offerings that now need to be filled. Construction of mid- and lower-tier communities was more muted.
“Renters can get really good deals on luxury apartments right now,” said Ricky Carruth, a real estate agent at eXp Realty and chief housing analyst for RLTYco based in Gulf Shores, Alabama. “You’ll see incentives, first-month-free offers, discounts — developers are trying to fill those units. Meanwhile, mid- and lower-tier units are tighter because there’s less supply.”
Don’t expect rents to necessarily come down. The rental market ended 2025 with an all-time high vacancy rate of 8.5%, according to Apartments.com, the multifamily affiliate of Homes.com, yet rents still rose nationally by 0.6% year over year.
That’s still a change from a few years ago, when the rental market was so hot that most renters had little to no room to negotiate, out of fear of losing a unit.
“Even with historically high vacancies, rents nationally still went up about 0.6 percent,” Carruth said. “That’s crazy when you think about it. I don’t see rents plummeting on a national scale. If anything, they’ll hold firm.”
Renters gain leverage
Filling vacant units will be landlords’ priorities, giving renters leverage to negotiate. Some landlords might change their policies to attract tenants.
“Things like discounting the first month of rent have become very popular and are very, very effective,” said Seamus Nally, the CEO of TurboTenant, a software management system for landlords. “Waiving different fees that you may have previously had, you can waive a separate pet fee and things like that just to make it more attractive and stand out a little bit in the market.”
Based in Denver, Colorado, Nally said he’s observed mom-and-pop landlords change their pet policies to help retain or attract tenants.
In this moment, as the multifamily development cools, rent growth slows and mortgage rates edge down, renters who are dreaming of homebuying might want to examine their options.
“For renters who want to become first-time homebuyers, my advice is to get creative,” Carruth said.
“New construction is offering incredible incentives — rate buy-downs, closing cost help, appliances, upgrades,” he said. “In many markets, you can get a new home cheaper than an existing one. Plus, you get warranties, no deferred maintenance, no big repair bills. I would talk to multiple builders, their lenders and then outside lenders. People get overwhelmed by prices and don’t take the time to research the actual options. But there are options.”
Carruth said he expects construction on new communities to slow as the forces of supply and demand shake out.
“Developers have basically stopped building new rental units until they figure out what to do with all the vacant ones,” Carruth said.
Source:https://www.homes.com/news/apartment-vacancies-hit-a-high-creating-opportunity-for-renters/812691773/
