DC-Area Rents Are Softening -- But Not Everywhere

• 11:14 AM EDT

by UrbanTurf Staff

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Today, UrbanTurf takes a comprehensive look at what is going with the apartment rents around the DC region. 

The average asking rent in the area at the end of March slipped to $2,451/month, a 2.8% decline from March 2025, according to data from Yardi Matrix which tracks apartment buildings with 50 or more units across the country. While that easing is modest, it represents a meaningful shift for a market that spent much of the past several years posting consistent gains. The softening is most visible at the unit-type level: studios are averaging $1,832 a month, one-bedrooms $2,303, and two-bedrooms $3,076 — all of which are tracking below 2025 levels.

Within the District, the correction has been most pronounced in some of the city's high-rent neighborhoods. Georgetown rents have slid 3.24% over the past year, landing at an average of $2,292 — though at $3,509 for a two-bedroom, the neighborhood still commands a premium. Georgetown is not alone in terms of dropping rents. Navy Yard (-1.62%), Logan Circle (-1.06%) and Petworth (-1.64%) all saw declines. In contrast, Adams Morgan saw rents rise 0.46% to an average of $2,592 a month.

The Northern Virginia suburbs tell a more divided story. Arlington and Alexandria are seeing rents pull back — down 0.67% and 3.41%, respectively — as a significant volume of new apartment supply has come online in recent years. On the other hand, Herndon is bucking the regional trend with a 2.57% year-over-year increase, driven by spillover demand from the Silver Line corridor and the growing tech employment around Dulles. Tysons, meanwhile, posted the smallest gain of any market we tracked at just 0.48%. 

The Maryland suburbs remain the most affordable quadrant in the region, and on that front, little has changed. Silver Spring continues to offer some of the region's most budget-friendly rents, averaging just $1,967 a month overall, with one-bedrooms at $1,786 and two-bedrooms at $2,094. Rockville posted a  0.6% increase to $2,360, while Bethesda, despite its reputation for high prices, actually saw its average dip 3.25% to $2,699 — the steepest decline of any jurisdiction in this roundup. 

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/dc-area_rents_are_softening_--_but_not_everywhere/24489.