Concession Use Eases Across Regions, but Discounts Keep Deepening

U.S. apartment concession use eased to 15.8% of stabilized units in July, and for the first time this summer the pullback extended across all four regions, according to data from Realpage Market Analytics. Discount depth told a different story. The average concession held firm nationally and remained well above year-ago levels in every region, leaving a market landscape defined by narrowing breadth, durable depth, and a widening gap between where concessions are common and where they are deep.

Concessions remained most widespread in the high-supply South, with usage slipping 0.8 points during the month to 21.1%. Even so, usage in the South stood 4 points above the July 2025 rate, which was the largest annual gain of any region. The West followed at 14.1%, also down 0.8 points for the month, yet discounts in the region remained the deepest at 11.9%, up 2 points year-over-year, the biggest annual increase in depth nationally. The Northeast edged down to 11.1%, while the Midwest posted the largest monthly decline, falling a full point to 9%, the only region below 10% and the lowest on both measures. Notably, concessions in every region remained above year-ago levels on both usage and depth, a reminder that July's cooling looks seasonal rather than a true reversal.

Large Markets with the Highest Concession Use

Austin again led the top 50 national markets, with concessions offered on 37% of stabilized units at an average discount of 15.2%, though depth eased from 15.6% in June. San Antonio (32.6%) and Denver (31.7%) followed, with usage slipping in both markets during the month. Among large markets, the top 10 ranked by usage saw unusual turnover in July: Charlotte and Jacksonville entered the list while Phoenix and Tampa dropped out, and Nashville slid from fourth to eighth. Texas metros continued to account for half of the top 10, underscoring the state's concentration of incentive pressure.

Where Discounts Run Deepest

Ranking the 50 largest markets by discount depth rather than usage reshuffles the leaderboard. Phoenix topped the depth rankings at 15.4% despite falling just below the usage top 10, evidence that its concession pressure is narrowing in reach but not in intensity. Austin (15.2%), Denver (14.8%) and Nashville (14.5%) formed a broad-and-deep group elevated on both measures. Los Angeles stood out as the opposite case, with an average discount of 13.8%, matching Charlotte among the five deepest for major markets, on usage of just 9.9%, suggesting operators there are deploying concessions selectively but aggressively where they are needed.

Widening the lens to include secondary and tertiary markets, Florida emerged as the nation's depth epicenter. Cape Coral-Fort Myers saw the deepest average discount nationwide of 17.2%, up 4.1 points year-over-year, alongside usage that surged 12.6 points to 34.1%. Naples posted the second-deepest discount at 16.5% even as usage fell 13.3 points from a year ago to 16.2%, a sign that operators are concentrating deeper incentives on a smaller share of units. With North Port-Sarasota, Lakeland and Deltona-Daytona Beach also ranking among the 10 deepest, Florida metros claimed half of the nation's deepest-discounting markets, a concentration that mirrors Texas' dominance of the usage rankings.

Taken together, July's results sharpen a pattern worth watching: usage is easing seasonally, but depth continues to build year-over-year in every region. That combination suggests operators are narrowing who receives a concession before shrinking the concession itself. The first genuine signal of easing concession pressure will come when depth follows usage downward as we enter the second half of the year. Until then, breadth and depth are telling two different stories, and both are essential to reading distinct local conditions accurately.