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Has the rental market finally softened? New studies lean that way.

Rental rates, while still higher in the long term, seem to have leveled off month over month, according to October reports from Adobo and Zumper.

Percentage increases in median rent are slowing down, two recent reports show.
Percentage increases in median rent are slowing down, two recent reports show.Read moreiStock

Now that we've learned that land prices in Philadelphia are plummeting, it may not be surprising to learn that rental rates, while still higher in the long term, seem to have leveled off month over month, according to October reports.

Rental analyses have been released recently by Abodo and Zumper. While they differ on the extent to which the market has cooled — nationally and locally — both point to some general relief for renters.

In Zumper's analysis, the median rate for a one-bedroom apartment in Philadelphia is $1,550 — nearly 10 percent up over this time last year, but just 0.6 percent growth since last month. A two-bedroom — calculated at about $1,700 a month — is down 1.7 percent since last month and up 4.3 percent since last year.

Abodo says a one-bedroom rental will cost about $1,294 a month, up 2.78 percent since last month, and a two-bedroom will rent for about $1,608 a month, up just 0.35 percent since September.

While the findings differ somewhat on national trends for one-bedroom rental rates since last month (Zumper points to a meager 0.2 percent increase, while Abodo points to a "possibly insignificant" 0.2 percent decrease), they agree that rates for two-bedrooms are down across the country. Both studies also agree that San Francisco and New York remain the most expensive places to live in the country.