Only one U.S. state has seen rents fall over the past year

Apartment rents continue to climb in states across the U.S. — except one.

Even as the rent climbed nationwide in July compared with a year ago, the average cost of a pad in Idaho fell 19%, according to Rent.com. The Gem State was one of the hottest housing markets during the height of the coronavirus pandemic, as thousands of Americans fled crowded cities and Idaho added housing to absorb new residents. 

But the state's rental market is now starting to cool, and "it feels like it's slowing down more than the nation," said Zillow chief economist Skylar Olsen. "It's slowing down because it got so much more aggressive in the beginning."