Concession Values are Up, but the Number of Units Offering Discounts Has Faded

The number of U.S. apartments offering concessions has started to trend downward, but the average value of the concessions being offered has gone up.

Roughly 12% of stabilized conventional apartment units across the U.S. are offering a concession today, with an average discount rate of 9.3%. That translates to a little more than 30 days free, which is at least two days more than the average offered immediately following the COVID-19 pandemic.

While this is some of the highest level of concession usage the U.S. has seen in stabilized assets in the last decade or so, there’s a key difference in today’s concessions versus the similarly high levels of concessions usage during the Great Financial Crisis in 2008 and 2009. That difference is that what is driving concessions is not a lack of demand, but rather an intense barrage of supply.

Supply volumes have peaked and are on their way down in the majority of apartment markets across the U.S. In fact, 2025 deliveries in the nation are on track to be 25% less than 2024 levels. Assuming demand continues at its current robust pace, which is the forecast at RealPage Market Analytics, concession usage is expected to burn off for most of the country in the near term.

Regional and market level concession trends are expected to vary in the near term. As the fall and winter months approach, concessions are expected to increase as they usually do, and then fall off again in the spring and summer months. More substantial burn off is expected in prime leasing season of 2026.

For more information on the state of apartment markets across the U.S., including forecasts, watch the webcast Market Intelligence: Today’s Most Pressing Market Questions.