Zoning deregulation seems to be having a strong impact on rent prices in some of the nation’s largest cities.
Pro-housing policies seem to be having an impact in some of the largest U.S. cities, with rent prices finally seeing drops after years of growth, reports Tosin Akintola in Reason.
“The data from Five Star Cash Offer supports recent reports from online real estate brokerages Redfin and Realtor, which detail a decline in rent prices across some of the largest metropolitan areas in the United States.” Cities with the sharpest drops in rent prices include Sarasota, Florida, with a 42.67 percent drop between January 2024 and January 2025; Providence, Rhode Island, with a 19.22 percent drop; and Minneapolis, with a 11.14 percent drop.
While experts attribute much of the decline in rent costs to zoning reform, “other factors could be at play. Florida has been struck in recent years by Hurricanes Ian and Milton, and higher flood insurance premiums could be forcing some homeowners—especially those with second homes—to sell, creating a surplus of available housing.” But in cities like Austin and Minneapolis, zoning deregulation has played a major role in making housing construction more affordable.
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