NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — A January rental report showed rents decreased nationwide for the seventeenth consecutive month. Nashville was one of several major metropolitan areas that saw a decrease.
Jan. 2025 data from Realtor.com showed rental prices decreased nationwide by 1.1%. In the Nashville metro area, there was an average price drop of 4.4% when comparing 2023 and 2024 rent prices.
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Part of the reason for the price change is that new construction has outpaced demand. However, Nashville rental experts say you may not see much of a difference if you are the market for a new place.
“It’s just not material enough to make a huge impact on what may happen to someone at a more granular level with their specific apartment,” founder and CEO of Apartment Insiders, Joel Sanders, said.
As of publication, the average rental payment in Music City sits at $1,536. Sanders suggested instead of trying to go out and find a new place with cheaper rent, if you’re already in a decent apartment you’re happy with, consider staying put. If you want to renew your lease, the earlier you can make that decision, Sanders says some apartment communities may give you a deal for making that decision early.
“Between the apartment communities, I think the competition has cooled off a bit,” Sanders said. “I think what a lot of apartment landlords are looking to do is strategize their way into how they make it to 2027 when they could start to adjust rents upwards.”
The data also showed strong rental supply is also leading to a more balanced market. Sanders said this doesn’t necessarily mean rent prices will continue to drop, though.
“I don’t think we are going to see it dip much more than that four percent that’s in that report,” Sanders said. “It’s either going to stay steady throughout most of 2025 and maybe 2026, at least the early part of 2026, and the rents may start to go up after that.”
