May 2026 Rental Market Report

As the rental market moves into its busiest season, landlords are seeing several shifts take shape at once. More listings are hitting the market, vacancy timelines are adjusting, and maintenance requests are changing with the weather. While rents remained relatively stable in May, the underlying trends tell a more important story: successful rental operators are preparing now for the increased activity that summer brings.

In May, median asking rent held steady at $1,790 per month, while median days on market increased to 28 days as more inventory entered the market. Maintenance requests continued their seasonal transition, with pest control activity nearly doubling since the start of the year. At the same time, rent collection challenges increased nationally, highlighting the importance of tenant screening and proactive rent collection practices.

This month's report breaks down the latest rental pricing trends, vacancy performance, maintenance activity, and payment behavior across thousands of rental properties nationwide.

The Market in May: Quick Read

1. Rents remained stable: Median asking rent was $1,790 per month, essentially unchanged from April.
2. Vacancy timelines lengthened slightly: Median days on market increased to 28 days as more summer inventory entered the market.
3. Pest season is clearly underway: Pest control requests rose to 6.2% of all maintenance activity, nearly double January levels.
4. Security deposits remained steady: Average deposits continued to track at roughly 1.03x monthly rent.
5. Rent collection performance weakened: The national delinquency rate increased to 6.9%, continuing a multi-month upward trend.

For landlords and property managers, the message is clear: leasing season is active, competition is increasing, and operational preparedness matters more than ever.

What Rentals Are Going For

Median asking rent in May: $1,790/month.

Rents were essentially flat from April's $1,800, holding in the same range they have been in since February. The 3BR-to-4BR jump remains the steepest step in the ladder: $2,000 to $2,875, a 44% premium. Townhouses ($2,500 median) continue to command the highest rents of any property type, now 39% above houses ($1,998). Studios dipped to $1,145, down from April's $1,450, suggesting some softening in the smallest units.

By Bedroom Count

By Property Type

By State (Top 10 Markets by Volume)

Mississippi is the most affordable top-10 market at $1,050 median rent, 60% below Massachusetts at $2,600. Illinois ($894 median) appears cheaper, but that figure is skewed by a concentration of affordable downstate listings rather than reflecting Chicago metro pricing.

Top 5 Cities by Listing Volume

Top 3 Most Expensive Cities

Top 3 Most Affordable Cities

Security Deposits

The average security deposit in May was $2,048 (median: $1,849), with a deposit-to-rent ratio of 1.03x. This is consistent with recent months and in line with the standard practice of collecting roughly one month's rent as deposit.

Days on Market: Spring Inventory Adds Fill Time

Median days on market was 28 days in May, up from 23 in April and 20 in March. That is still 15% below the December winter peak of 33 days, but the upward tick is worth noting. As more landlords activate listings heading into summer, competition for the same pool of tenants increases fill times. Landlords should expect three to four weeks to fill a vacancy in most markets, with faster results in the Northeast.

Trailing 6 Months

By State

Massachusetts (10 days), Illinois (12 days), and Pennsylvania (12 days) were the fastest markets to fill vacancies in May, consistent with their positions from prior months. On the slow end, Ohio (83 days), New York (61 days), and Arizona/Maine (43 days) lagged significantly. Ohio is a notable outlier. Its average DOM of 92 days and median of 83 suggest structural vacancy issues rather than a handful of long-sitting outliers, given the wide gap between its 83-day median and the national 28-day median.

Maintenance: Pest Season Arrives in Full Force

The three largest maintenance categories in May were Other (26.1%), Plumbing (21.8%), and Heating (11.3%). But the trend story is pest control.

Pest control's share of total maintenance requests nearly doubled from 3.2% in January to 6.2% in May, the highest share in the trailing six months and still climbing. This is the clearest seasonal signal in the data. Plumbing's share declined from 27.7% in December to 21.8% in May as frozen pipe season ended. Heating held steady around 11% after dropping from its 14.1% winter peak.

Property managers should have pest control vendors on standby. The summer peak in pest activity is still ahead, and the trajectory has not leveled off yet.

Top Categories, May 2026

Rent Collection Trends: Delinquency Continues to Climb

The national rent delinquency rate reached 6.9% in May, up from 4.7% in April and more than double December's 3.0%. Every month since December has moved higher. This is calculated using only registered tenants with automated online payments, the cleanest measure of actual collection performance.

Trailing 6 Months

By State (Highest Delinquency)

By State (Lowest Delinquency)

By City (Highest Delinquency)

By Property Type

By Bedroom Count

The geographic pattern from prior months holds. Rust Belt and Southern cities dominate the high end of delinquency: Cleveland (34.6%), Jacksonville (28.2%), Memphis (27.7%), and Mobile (26.1%). West Coast and Mountain states cluster at the bottom, with Alaska (0.9%), Hawaii (1.9%), and Colorado (2.5%) showing the strongest collection performance. By property type, condos (2.7%) and townhouses (3.7%) remain the most reliable for on-time payment, while triplexes (9.5%) and mobile homes (8.2%) run highest. Delinquency is relatively flat across bedroom counts, ranging from 3.8% for 5+ bedrooms to 5.9% for studios.

What Landlords Should Watch Heading Into Summer

1. Expect longer fill times than March: More inventory is entering the market, so three to four weeks is becoming a more realistic vacancy timeline in many regions.
2. Prepare for higher pest activity: Pest-related maintenance requests are rising rapidly and typically continue increasing through the summer months.
3. Maintain strong screening standards: Delinquency trends suggest that tenant qualification and rent collection processes deserve extra attention, particularly in markets already showing elevated payment risk.
4. Build reserves for seasonal variability: Even in stronger markets, maintaining adequate cash reserves helps absorb temporary collection gaps and unexpected maintenance expenses.

The rental market remains active, but it is becoming more operationally demanding. Landlords who stay ahead of vacancy management, maintenance planning, and tenant screening will be best positioned for the busy summer season.