On paper, asking rents in many metros are holding steady, or even climbing. But when you factor in concessions, the real picture starts to shift.
In 2025, net effective rent (NER) has become the more honest metric for performance, and ignoring it can skew your entire revenue strategy. ApartmentIQ’s Q1 2025 analysis found that in 82% of top metros, effective rents are trailing behind advertised prices. That delta is no longer marginal. It’s driving leasing decisions, impacting pro-formas, and shifting how investors assess value.
The Gap Between Perception and Reality
Many teams are still reporting success based on asking rents, unaware that heavy discounting is eating into margins. If you’re offering six weeks free on a 12-month lease, you’re effectively reducing monthly rent by over 11%.
When that’s not accounted for in reporting or planning, it creates blind spots across leasing, asset management, and acquisitions.
Why This Matters for Operators
- Pricing teams need to factor in NER to ensure real revenue alignment
- Asset managers risk misjudging performance when basing targets on surface-level rents
- Marketing teams may push higher pricing strategies without visibility into concessions offered market-wide
The result? Overpricing, slower lease-ups, and missed revenue opportunities.
Track Net Effective Rent in Real Time
NER isn’t new, but daily visibility is. With tools like ApartmentIQ, teams can see not just what properties are asking, but what residents are actually paying when concessions are factored in.
It’s the context that makes better decisions possible.
Don’t Get Misled by Asking Rents.
Check out our Concessions 2025 guide to see how real operators are using effective rent data to price smarter and lease faster.