It’s been a painful couple of years for renters. Discounts from early in the pandemic, for those lucky enough to nab them, eventually gave way to hefty rent hikes . Lines for apartment viewings stretched for city blocks , and bidding wars erupted . Across the country, the rallying cry remained the same: The rent is too damn high . Look closely, though, and you’ll see that 2023 is shaping up to be the year that tenants claw back bargaining power from landlords. It may not feel that way just yet, but double-digit rent increases and eye-watering lease demands are now a thing of the past. RealPage, a real-estate-software company, declared in a report last month that the market was "rapidly shifting in favor of renters." A rise in the number of empty apartments, a decline in the number of people looking for a place of their own, and a coming influx of apartment supply will force landlords to compete more fiercely for tenants. And when landlords compete, tenants win — with concessions like months of free rent, free parking, and gift cards. There’s even a chance some Americans will see their rent go down this year. According to […]
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