Asking rents for apartments marked their first increase on an annual basis in six months in February amid strong demand, Redfin (RDFN) said Friday in a report.

The median asking rent in the US edged up 0.4% year over year to $1,607 last month, which also reflected the biggest increase in nine months, according to the real estate brokerage. It climbed 0.6% from January.

"The era of big rent declines is over for most of the country," said Sheharyar Bokhari, senior economist at Redfin. "A ton of new apartments have hit the market, and demand for those apartments is strong because it's so expensive to buy a home."

Bokhari said that demand may outpace supply as apartment construction has started to slow, which "could cause rents to tick up and the perks that many renters have grown accustomed to -- like free parking -- to disappear."

Asking rents remained largely flat for the past 10 months in contrast to the large swings in recent years, such as an 18% surge induced by the pandemic in 2021.

"Asking rents are now flattening because rental supply and demand are near equilibrium," according to the real estate brokerage.

In a separate report, Redfin said less than half -- or about 47% -- of newly constructed apartments completed in the third quarter of 2024 were rented within three months. That matched the lowest recorded share, aside from the start of the pandemic, that was seen in the last quarter of 2023, according to the brokerage.

"Builders are slowing their roll, with permits to construct apartments down almost 10% year over year," Bokhari said. "This means renters will eventually have fewer apartments to choose from, which could embolden landlords to boost rents -- though that may not happen until well into next year because a lot of apartments built during the pandemic are still coming on the market."