Renters are gaining leverage over landlords as the rental market shifts in their favor. Apartment units are staying vacant longer, vacancy rates are on the rise, and rental price growth is slowing. As a result, landlords are increasingly offering incentives like free parking or discounted rent to attract tenants.

In July, 33.2% of rental listings on Zillow included concessions, steady from June but significantly higher than the 25.4% seen a year ago and the recent low of 19.4% two years prior, according to Zillow. “Landlords are basically in a race to get tenants, so they’re throwing in a bunch of deals and perks to sweeten the pot,” said Orphe Divounguy, a senior economist at Zillow.

These incentives are particularly prevalent in six major metro areas where over half of Zillow’s listings offered sweeteners: Raleigh, Charlotte, Atlanta, Salt Lake City, Nashville, and Austin. Charlotte saw the most significant increase, with incentive offerings rising by nearly 16 percentage points.

Despite these concessions, housing costs remain a significant concern, with shelter prices accounting for almost 90% of July’s consumer price increase. While apartment rents have risen 5.1% over the past two years, this is a marked improvement from the 22.3% surge in the previous two years.

The shift in power is partly due to a building boom, with June seeing the highest increase in multifamily units since 1973. This surge in supply has made it harder for landlords to fill units, with the vacancy rate at 6.6%, the highest since winter 2021.