Phoenix Boasts Country’s Highest Share of Free Rent Months

Renters in Phoenix are the best-positioned in the country when it comes to getting a free month upon move-in.

Approximately 54 percent of rentals in the Phoenix metro are giving tenants at least one month off their rent, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing an October report from Apartment List. At that rate, the city boasts the highest percentage of rent concessions across the country.

The discounts range from one month to more than three months free. The rent concessions are just one way landlords have been trying to get tenants to sign the dotted line, with some also offering Amazon gift cards, discounted sports tickets and free moving trucks, according to the Journal.

Phoenix’s renter-friendly environment can be attributed to a glut of apartments built in the city in the pandemic years, per the Journal. As remote workers began moving into the Sun Belt, developers capitalized on the influx of residents by building a record number of new apartments complete with attractive amenities. Now, with not enough tenants to fill them, landlords are turning to tenant incentives like rent concessions to fill units.

Providing free months is many landlords’ preferred way of finding tenants for empty apartments without having to cut baseline rent prices. The upfront discount gives landlords a short-term hit rather than a long-term lower rent, allowing them to keep the advertised value of their properties for lenders and investors.

“It’s really just to hold the value of the market,” John Carlson, CEO of Scottsdale-based multifamily firm Mark-Taylor Residential, told the Business Journal. Mark-Taylor is currently offering an average of one-and-a-half months off rent for their luxury townhomes in the Phoenix area. The company also offers tenants discounts at local restaurants and Arizona Cardinals games via an online portal. One luxury townhome development in Queen Creek, the Pique Residences, is providing the biggest giveaway with three-and-a-half months free to move into the property, which comes complete with a pickleball court, dog park, pool and spa.

Even with concessions, Phoenix rents have fallen over the past year, mostly for higher-end properties where such concessions are provided. By the end of 2025, rents in Phoenix had fallen 4 percent year-over-year, more than three times the 1.3 percent nationwide rate of decrease, per Apartment List data.

— Chris Malone Méndez