Metro areas with a rental vacancy rate of 7% are considered to have a renter-friendly market, according to the report. In the Dallas-Fort Worth metro, rental vacancy rates stayed above that mark and rose from 8.9% in 2024 to 10.5% in 2025.
Having a higher vacancy rate means that tenants have more choices and stronger negotiating power, according to the report
The average vacancy rate for the U.S. rental market was about 7.6% in January, up from 7.2% in 2024.
The median asking rent in the Dallas area declined at a faster rate than the national trend, which was down 1.5% from the previous year. Jiayi Xu, an economist at Realtor.com, said supply is outperforming demand in the Dallas metro, which puts downward pressure on prices.
A high rental vacancy rate doesn’t necessarily mean the Dallas area isn’t a popular market, but instead means that developers are preparing for the future, Xu said.
“They’re not trying to meet the current demand, but they’re trying to meet the future demand for the rental market in Dallas,” Xu said.
Among the largest 50 metros, Realtor.com found that 22 are considered rental-friendly, 22 are balanced and six favor landlords.
Nationally, the median asking rent was about $1,672 across the 50 largest metros in January 2026, which is still lower than the typical monthly mortgage payment of about $2,040.
