What's Happening With DC Rents Heading Into Peak Leasing Season

• 12:05 PM EDT

by UrbanTurf Staff

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DC-area renters got a small dose of spring-season pricing pressure last month, but the broader trend still favors those hunting for apartments.

The May report from ApartmentList finds that the median rent in the region currently stands at $2,075, after rising 0.5% last month — a modest uptick that typically accompanies increased demand as the spring leasing season heats up. Despite that bump, prices remain 5.2% lower than a year ago, giving renters considerably more leverage than they had heading into last summer.

Breaking things down by unit size, studios are averaging $1,909 a month, one-bedrooms are coming in at $2,479, two-bedrooms at $3,604, and three-or-more-bedroom units at $5,787. Notably, prices are trending down across all unit types, suggesting the short-term seasonal uptick hasn't reversed the longer slide that has given DC renters a meaningful reprieve over the past year. 

The picture across the broader metro area is similarly renter-friendly, with year-over-year declines nearly universal across the region. DC proper's 5% annual drop is the steepest of any jurisdiction tracked, while Hyattsville stands out as the one market holding nearly flat year-over-year. 

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/whats_happening_with_dc_rents_heading_into_peak_leasing_season/24570.