By Venessa Wong

Up: unemployment and concessions

Rent rates in metropolitan areas nationwide tumbled as more people lost their jobs in 2009. According to Ronald Johnsey, president of AXIOMetrics, an apartment-market research firm in Dallas, many people looking to cut expenses moved out of one-bedroom apartments to live with roommates or back home with their families, causing supply to increase. Landlords in most metros dropped asking rents or offered concessions to attract tenants. In areas such as Phoenix, and Palm Bay, Fla., discounts worth nearly two months of rent were offered. While 2009 was another down year, the rate of decline slowed in most areas by the fourth quarter, suggesting that the market has been stabilizing. Johnsey says he is optimistic that rent levels will start to recover this year, but notes that this will depend mostly on job creation.

Note: The metro areas are ranked by the "effective rent," which factors in any concessions offered by landlords. A rent concession of 8.3% is equivalent to a one-month discount. The areas ranked are not cities, but metropolitan statistical areas as defined by the Census Bureau. Click here for full descriptions of the individual metro areas. Only those with populations of at least 1 million were included.

Employment figures are based on preliminary numbers reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics unless otherwise noted.

Source: AXIOMetrics.com