US apartment rents fell in Q4 2015, going against the growth trend during the first half of the year, according to a new report from CoStar. It was one of the weakest Q4's since the end of the recession.

In the first half of 2015, apartment rents grew at an annualized rate of 9.4%, but then fell to 2.7% for the second half of the year (and were negative those last three months). (We reported last year how growing rent costs were causing some tenants to skip trips to the doctor.)

In San Francisco, rents fell 1.7% in Q4. In San Jose, they dropped 2.7%. Other notable declines included Washington, DC, down 1.1%; Houston down 0.5%; Philadelphia down 0.3%, and Seattle and Chicago each down 0.2%.

The greatest declines were among newer, higher quality apartments (many built since 2010), followed by lesser declines among mid-quality, three-star apartments. Rents continued to grow among one- and two-star apartment properties. [CoStar]