The housing market is seeing a shift as landlords turn less aggressive - but 65% still plan to raise rent prices

• About 65% of US landlords plan to raise rents in the next 12 months, a new survey from Avail by Realtor.com showed.
• But that's down from 70.4% in October 2022.

Shifts are underway in the US housing market, with landlords turning less aggressive on raising rent prices in the coming months.

According to a survey of 2,500 landlords and renters from Avail by Realtor.com, 65.1% plan to raise rent on at least one of their properties in the next year, down from 70.4% in October 2022.

Of the landlords who said they don't plan to raise rent, 48.2% said they aim to retain renters and avoid turnover, given the current market conditions.

Additional findings showed that 40.3% of landlords who aren't raising rent pointed to a strong landlord-tenant relationship as a key influence to their decision.

Meanwhile, Rent.com data shows that rent prices climbed 0.29% in April on a year-over-year basis, the smallest annual increase in more than three years.

Renters, for their part, have been forced to stomach growing economic headwinds and a lack of affordability. More than half of renters, the Avail survey said, don't think they can afford a rent increase.

With rent prices still hovering close to record-highs, that poses an obstacle for landlords looking to keep units occupied moving into 2024. The national median rent in April hit $1,967, down from March's $1,971 but still higher than $1,937 in February.

US rents had peaked in $2,053 in August 2022, according to GoBankingRates data.

Less than one-third of landlords said they're already charging rents at fair market value, and about 15% said they expect average rents to fall in the next year.

Meanwhile, 30% of renters are considering buying a home in the next 12 months, down from 34.6% in July 2022 and 32.3% in October 2022, according to the Avail survey.