The inner suburbs comprise 15 percent of all current apartment construction in Greater Boston, according to research from Colliers and CoStar Group. Greystar’s 384-unit Maxwell complex, under construction at 85 Boston St. in Everett, is scheduled to open in late 2024. Photo courtesy of Greystar

Rent in Greater Boston dropped in the month of October according to a new report from Realtor.com.

Year-over-year, the median rent for an apartment in the Boston metro area dropped 1.7 percent to $2,944. Still, the median rent is the second largest among the 50 largest metropolitan areas that Realtor.com’s analysis covered.

The drop in median rent can be credited to an increase in supply as rental stock increased across the Northeast, the home-listing portal’s economists said. While boasting smaller gains than the rest of the nation, the region saw a 7.4 percent year-over-year increase in its rental supply.

“New multifamily construction projects started in the last two years have hit the market in 2024, with a greater supply of units helping to soften rents and bring renters some relief,” Danielle Hale, chief economist at Realtor.com, said in a statement. “While we expect fewer multifamily homes to be finished in 2025, we still anticipate enough to increase supply, which will keep downward pressure on rents.”

Realtor.com projects that the nation’s rental housing stock is expected to increase by 1.1 percent to over 49 million units by the fall of 2025.

Nationwide, the median rent dropped 0.8 percent to $1,720. Studio apartments saw the greatest decrease with the median rent dropping by 1.2 percent to $1,436.

Prices have been trending downward as October is the 15th month of year-over-year rent decline in a row for studio, one- and two-bedroom properties since Realtor.com’s trend data began in 2020. Despite the consistent decline, the U.S. median rent was just $40 less than the peak seen in August 2022.