Memphis rents are down 16% from peak.

[Andrew Glisson]

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙪𝙢𝙗𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡: 𝙢𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙖𝙣 𝙖𝙨𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙙𝙤𝙬𝙣 16.1%, 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 $1,359 𝙩𝙤 $1,140. 𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙧𝙩𝙮-𝙛𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙚𝙘𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙝𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙙𝙚𝙘𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙨. 𝙊𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝘼𝙪𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙣 (-18.2%) 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝘽𝙞𝙧𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙝𝙖𝙢 (-17.1%) 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙚𝙥𝙚𝙧 𝙙𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙨.

But the cause is straightforward — oversupply. During 2021-2023, developers broke ground on multifamily projects at a pace not seen in decades. The Sun Belt got flooded with new inventory. Supply went up. Rents came down. This isn't a Memphis-specific collapse. It's a regional correction playing out in slow motion.

𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞'𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈'𝐝 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐌𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐰𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐰:

Price to the current market, not the one from three years ago. Owners still anchored to 2022 peak rents are sitting on vacant units and calling it a bad market. It's not a bad market — it's a different market.

The correction is running its course. The construction wave that caused this has slowed dramatically. Spring leasing season typically brings modest price increases. More renters who felt priced out are re-entering. That means more applicants, not fewer.

Minimize vacancy at all costs. One month empty at $0 hurts more than 12 months at $50 below your ideal rent. Do the math.

𝐌𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧'𝐭 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐝. FedEx. St. Jude. University of Memphis. XAI. Logistics hub. If your hold timeline is 5+ years, this dip is noise.

The landlords who struggle through this are the ones chasing 2022 numbers in a 2026 market.

[Denise Supplee]

Yes, pricing to today’s reality and protecting occupancy is everything right now.

This is where opportunity starts to show up on the acquisition side. Lower rents often translate into better entry points and less competition, especially for those underwriting conservatively.