10/15/2026
The national rental market is still getting cheaper on paper. In Silicon Valley, that relief has disappeared.
Median asking rent across studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom homes in the 50 largest U.S. metropolitan areas fell 0.4% from a year earlier to $1,694 in September, according to Realtor.com's October 15 rental report. It was the 38th consecutive month of year-over-year declines. But the annual drop was the smallest in three years, while some technology-driven and lower-cost markets moved in the opposite direction.
San Jose led the reported increases with a 6% annual jump to $3,565. San Francisco rents climbed 4.8% to $3,057. Realtor.com associates the tightening with demand linked to the Bay Area's artificial-intelligence industry, although its rental-listing data cannot establish how much of the increase was caused by hiring at any particular company.
Landlord concessions fell markedly in both markets.
