The residential rental market ended the first half of 2025 with a clear trend of deceleration in most of Brazil’s main capitals. After a cycle of intense appreciation, cities like São Paulo, Belo Horizonte, Curitiba, and Porto Alegre recorded more contained increases between January and June, points out the QuintoAndar Imovelweb Rental Index.

Of the six cities monitored by the index in the country, four registered slower price growth than in recent years. In São Paulo, the city with the most expensive square meter in Brazil (R$ 68.90 in June), the increase was 4.98%. This is the most modest semi-annual appreciation since 2021, indicating a price stabilization after years of strong growth.

The cooling is even more evident in Belo Horizonte and Curitiba. Both recorded an identical increase of 7.64% in the first half of this year, but this figure represents a sharp slowdown. In 2023, for example, rent in BH had risen by 17.56% in the same period. In Curitiba, the current increase is almost half of that recorded in the first half of 2022 (14.1%). In Porto Alegre, the 4.83% increase also represents a slowdown compared to the first half of last year (7.63%).

“The first half of 2025 sketches a new map of the rental market in the country. Cities like Belo Horizonte and Curitiba, which experienced significant appreciation post-pandemic, are now entering a more settled rhythm,” states Thiago Reis, Data Manager at Grupo QuintoAndar.

The main exception was Rio de Janeiro. Bucking the general trend, the capital of Rio de Janeiro state accelerated, accumulating an 8.41% increase in the semester, the most significant result for the period since 2023 (12.3%) and the highest among the six analyzed capitals. Brasília also deviated from the general trend, with a growth of 7.33% — only slightly higher than in 2024 (7.07%).

“The slowdown in the pace of rent increases in most capitals suggests a combination of factors. After an appreciation cycle that lasted more than two years, prices may have reached a limit in relation to family income, which is already bearing a high cost of living,” analyzes the Data Manager.

It is crucial to note, however, that the slowdown in the growth rate does not mean that rental prices are falling. On the contrary, the market shows strong resilience. In all six capitals, the cumulative variation over the last 12 months remains positive and at high levels, surpassing the inflation of the period.

“Proof of this strength also lies in the low negotiation margin: discounts for new contracts remain at historic lows, such as 2.6% in São Paulo and the emblematic zero discount in Brasília. The current scenario, therefore, does not indicate a weakened market, but rather a recalibration towards more sustainable and gradual growth, after a period of strong appreciation,” highlights Reis.

In June, it wasn’t just São Paulo and Brasília that had the lowest discount percentages in their entire historical series. Other capitals also had significant lows: Belo Horizonte, Porto Alegre, and Curitiba (all with 2%) presented the 2nd lowest percentage ever recorded by the index.

Accumulated rental price variation in the 1st half of the year: