The Waller, Weeks and Johnson Rental Index for May Rents is Complete

U.S. Rents are at a Slight Premium, but Texas Rents are On Sale

Home
School Events & News
The Waller, Weeks and Johnson Rental Index for May Rents is Complete

OXFORD, Miss. – How are the nation’s rental markets doing in May of 2025?

The end of May results of the Waller, Weeks and Johnson Rental Index are in, providing good news in many parts of the country for renters.

The index is calculated monthly and housed with American Real Estate Society. The analysis covers multifamily apartments, condos, and single family units in 100 of the nation’s largest housing markets.

The monthly rent for the average rental unit in the U.S. is now $2,049 per month, which is at a slight premium of 0.68% relative to the historical trend in rents of $2,035 for the country. For the nation as a whole, year-over-year monthly rents are up 3.18% representing a modest increase compared to recent years.

Examining some of the largest markets in Texas (Austin, Dallas, El Paso, Houston, McAllen and San Antonio) reveals a renter friendly environment for the Lone Star state. Three markets (Austin, San Antonio, and Dallas) are leasing at discounts to historical trends of 6.98%, 3.60%, and 3.06%, respectively. Houston, McAllen, and El Paso are leasing at small premiums of 0.44%, 0.57%, and 2.46%, respectively.

Readers can review their markets of interest here.

Quotes:

“After several years of significant premiums, rents around the country are beginning to come back to their historical trends. In some metros, rents are even trading at discounts. This is mostly driven by the significant development and completion of multifamily units.”

“Stabilizing rents are having the expected results of stabilizing housing prices in most parts of the country. Housing prices are driven by rents. As rent grow slows, we should expect home prices to do the same.”

“All six of the largest Texas markets are below the norm of 3% to 5% year-over-year rent increases with Austin and San Antonio actually experiencing year-over-year rent declines of 2.35% and 0.36%, respectively. With these kinds of results, it is clear why home prices are settling in Texas.”

Index Information

Click here Waller, Weeks and Johnson Rental Index to view the index.
Updated monthly – typically between the 15th and the end of month.
All columns of data are interactive and can be ranked by viewers from largest to smallest or smallest to largest.
Tracks rents (RENT – average rent for average rental unit) and other rental statistics in 100 of the nation’s largest rental markets.
Other Rental Statistics:
Provides statistical estimates of rents (Est Rent) for each market based on a history of that market’s rental data.
Provides estimates if a market is trading/leasing at a Premium or a Discount (+/-) relative to its statistically estimated rents for that market.
Provides month-over-month (1MOM) rent change for a market.
Provides three-month (3MOM) rent change for a market.
Provides nine-month (9MOM) rent change for a market.
Provides 12-month (Y-O-Y) rent change for a market.
Provides an Affordability measure. The number shown is the annual income needed such that renting does not stress a household’s budget.