While asking rents in all of the top 50 U.S. metros were below their all-time peaks in February, 15 well-supplied Sun Belt markets stood out for offering tenants the deepest discounts in years.
Led by Austin, TX—the region’s premier technology hub—this cluster of Western and Southern metros has seen rents retreat by at least 10% from their highest COVID-19 pandemic-era benchmarks, according to the Realtor.com® February rental report.
In inventory-rich Austin, which has experienced a boom in multifamily construction in recent years, the median asking rent plunged to $1,357 in February, down 18.2% from its September 2022 peak.
For the average Austin renter, this rent reset translates into roughly $300 in savings per month.
Additionally, the median rent in Austin recorded its 34th consecutive year-over-year decrease in February.
In a telling sign, all 15 markets on the list have experienced year-over-year declines from their peaks, cementing a multiyear post-pandemic correction that has resulted in fundamental shifts to renters' benefit.
"Far from a brief softness, these declines have proven remarkably sustained—particularly across Sun Belt and Southern markets, where a boom in multifamily construction has tipped the supply-demand balance in renters' favor," says Realtor.com economist Jiayi Xu.
Austin's emergence as a renter's haven is a textbook case of supply and demand.
Last year, Austin recorded the second-highest rental vacancy rate across the top 50 metros, at 13.8%, offering renters more choices, shifting leverage away from landlords, and resulting in staggering asking price softening.
The only major U.S. metro that outpaced Austin in vacancies in 2025 was Birmingham, AL, which recorded a rate of 14.3%.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Southern city ranked second for total rent relief in February. The median rent in Birmingham plummeted 17.1% from its July 2022 peak, to just $1,125 in February—the lowest price point among the 15 cities on the list.
Equally renter-friendly Memphis, TN, came in third, with the median rent there shedding 16.1% from its July 2022 peak, settling at $1,140 last month, followed by Phoenix, where the rent relief amounted to 15.6% compared to the market’s high point in June 2022.
Atlanta rounded out the top five, delivering renters 15.2% in savings compared to the market’s October 2021 peak.
Atlanta has also become a standout for its sheer persistence, recording its 42nd consecutive month of annual rent decreases, signaling a long-term rebalancing.
