Rents keep falling throughout the Triangle
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Raleigh and most metro areas in the Sun Belt saw rents decline again last year, as a building boom has flooded the market with new apartments.
Why it matters: Housing remains unaffordable for many, but a surge in supply is limiting landlords' ability to raise rents, Axios' Sami Sparber writes.
Between the lines: Although median U.S. rent for new leases is down 1.5% from a year ago, it's still roughly 20% above pre-pandemic levels, at $1,400 a month, per Apartment List.
Zoom in: The Triangle has been one of the hottest spots for new construction over the past five years. Look anywhere from the downtown cores to the fast-growing suburbs, and you will find swaths of new apartment complexes.
- Median rents in the Raleigh metro were down 2.2% between February 2026 and February 2025. They now stand at $1,361 on average — a far cry from their peak of $1,566 in August 2022, per Apartment List data.
- In the Durham metro area, they were down 1.4%. The average rent is now $1,275 per month, compared with a peak of $,1426 in July 2022.
What's next: A building boom that led many of the Triangle's apartment complexes to offer rent concessions or keep renewals flat could be cooling down.
- High building costs and a glut of supply in places like the Sun Belt have made developers cautious about starting new projects.
- And permits for new apartments in Raleigh have fallen below their peaks.