Central Ohio’s “build baby build” mentality, which has brought countless new apartments and housing developments, may have resulted in lower rent prices for the region than in 2024. Real estate company Redfin published data Friday that revealed asking rents fell across 28 of 44 major U.S. metros, including Columbus. The company cites that people aren’t moving at the rate they were during and immediately following the COVID-19 pandemic as a significant reason for the decline nationwide. According to Redfin Chief Economist Daryl Fairweather, the answer is more nuanced. This story is part of 10TV's "Boomtown" initiative — our commitment to covering every angle of central Ohio's rapid growth. This includes highlighting success stories, shining a light on growing pains and seeking solutions to issues in your everyday life. “Rents are coming down because there has been a lot of new construction that is still sitting vacant,” she said. Rather than a sign of overbuilding, Fairweather describes the current situation as a necessary correction. “In Columbus, in particular, rent went up a lot last year. So this is kind of a return to normal, a bit,” she said. “But the long-term trend has been rising rents in Columbus.” Fairweather said while Columbus is seeing a slight decrease in 2025, she expects rents to rise once again in 2026 as the city is still growing. “I think Columbus is coming off of a higher peak,” Fairweather said. “There was a lot of activity in Columbus, a lot of people moving here from more expensive East Coast metros that drove up rent, and it took a while for new inventory to come online and for rents to stabilize.” According to Redfin data, asking rents in Columbus fell by 3.5%, the third most of any of the tracked metropolitan regions. Austin, Texas, fell the most at 8.8%. Median rent in Columbus stands at $1,427, still expensive for a lot of people living in the city. “I know that before when they first moved here, I was paying around $1,300 and even for two people, that’s even too much,” said Evin Clinger, who is apartment hunting with a fiancé and pets in tow. “I’m looking usually between $1,000 or $1,200, but everything for us and the size we would need, everything is starting at 13 and going up from there.” Several comparably-sized cities did see rent increases this year, according to the data. Cincinnati had the largest increase of all metros at 7.4%. St. Louis and Pittsburgh also saw rent increases.