If you’re a renter, the market may be shifting in your favor.

As of December, the median asking rent price in the U.S. was $1,695, down 0.5% — or $8 — from November, according to a new report by Realtor.com.

The latest rent price is 1.1% lower — or $18 — from a year before, and down 3.7% from peak highs in July 2022.

Rental affordability is improving in part because of a “construction boom” of new apartment buildings during the pandemic, according to Daryl Fairweather, chief economist at Redfin.

“There are still units coming online now from projects that were started back in 2021, 2022,” she said.

With more new units available, some property managers are considering lowering their asking prices to attract tenants, experts say.

This means renters should have more negotiating power when it comes to the terms of their leases, Fairweather explained.

“We’re calling it a renter’s market. We think that’s going to continue for the next year,” she said.

More from Personal Finance:
This should be your ‘last resort’ to cover an emergency expense
Your tax return could be ‘flagged for audit’ without these forms
Changes Americans would make to close social security’s financial gap

To be sure, the volume of newly built apartments is concentrated in some areas more than others, making rent prices decline faster in certain parts of the country.

By way of example, Austin, Texas, where the median rent is $1,394 as of December, saw some of the highest levels of multifamily housing construction over the past few years, according to Redfin. That figure is down from $1,482 in August when the median price fell 17.6% from a year prior.

Rents in Austin are likely to continue to fall as supply grows and demand balances itself out, experts say.

What you’re able to leverage as a renter will depend on what’s happening in your current market or where you plan to live.

Here are three key steps to consider if you’re on the rental market this year: 

Fees for amenities like a parking garage, a shared community space, an on-site fitness center or bike storage can range from $30 a month for basic offerings or one-time charges of $200 to $500, according to Apartment List.

If you see ads where other properties are calling out concessions like waived parking costs or reduced fees for an amenity, see if your landlord is willing to match that.

The first Social Security benefit checks for 2025 include a 2.5% increase — the lowest annual cost-of-living adjustment since 2021.

For retirees, that amounts to an increase of about $50 per month, on average, according to the Social Security Administration.

Still, amid stubborn inflation and persistent elevated costs for everyday items, some retirees may feel that the increase is not enough.

“I think overall folks are glad to see the raise,” said Jim Blair, founder at NSSA Professionals and a former Social Security administrator. “It’s not necessarily keeping up with everything, but it’s better than nothing.”

The latest government inflation data shows the measure used to calculate the annual Social Security COLA — the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, or CPI-W — was up 2.8% over the last 12 months as of December.

More from Personal Finance:
Why retirees may feel the 2025 Social Security COLA isn’t enough
Here’s the changes Americans would make to close Social Security’s financing gap
Social Security Fairness Act beneficiaries face lengthy wait for higher payments

Another measure used by the Federal Reserve to gauge long-run inflation — core inflation excluding food and energy under the personal consumption expenditures price index — was up 2.8% in December, according to data released on Friday.

For retirees who would like to see bigger Social Security benefit checks, there are a couple of strategies they may consider trying, Blair said.

Social Security beneficiaries may have up to 22% of their benefits withheld for taxes.

“If you’re struggling a little bit, particularly if you’re not in too high of a tax bracket, you can always adjust that,” Blair said.

If you’ve been getting refunds, reducing how much you have withheld will allow you to access those funds sooner, though you will get back less during next year’s tax filing season, Blair said.

But there may be a risk you may owe money at tax time next year, depending on your personal circumstances, he said.

Beneficiaries can adjust the tax withholdings on their benefits by filing Form W-4V with the Social Security Administration.

In 2025, that standard monthly premium is $185 per month.

But higher-income retirees pay more for what’s known as an income-related monthly adjustment amount, or IRMAA.

That also applies to monthly premiums for Medicare Part D prescription drug plans, which have average estimated monthly premiums of $46.50 in 2025.

The premiums are based on income tax filings from two years prior. If you’ve since had a life changing event that has prompted your income to go down — such as if you’ve retired, sold an income-producing business or survived the death of a spouse — you can apply to have your Medicare withholdings adjusted.

To do that, complete Form SSA-44 and submit it to the Social Security Administration.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly discussed imposing tariffs, both on the campaign trail and since taking office — and the first tranche, on goods from Canada, China and Mexico will take effect Feb. 1, the White House confirmed on Friday.

While there are still some unknowns, one thing is clear, economists said: U.S. consumers should brace for a negative financial impact.

It’s “hard to find positives” from tariffs, said Mary Lovely, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, whose research specializes in trade with China and global supply chains.

Trump plans to put 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada, and a 10% duty on China, Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said Friday.

China, Mexico and Canada are the three largest trading partners with the U.S., as measured by imported goods. They respectively supplied about $536 billion, $455 billion, and $437 billion of goods to the U.S. in 2022, according to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.

Tariffs are a tax on foreign imports. U.S. businesses pay that tax to the federal government.

Many businesses will funnel those extra costs to customers — either directly or indirectly — which is why tariffs generally trigger higher prices for consumers, economists said.

“Part of these tariffs will be passed on to consumers,” Lovely said.

Americans could also find they have fewer choices for brands and products stocked on store shelves, she said.

For example, it’s unclear if any imports will be exempt. Trump suggested this week, for example, that Canadian oil might be exempt. The White House said the tariffs will be open for public inspection on Saturday.

Discussions around such specifics are “ongoing,” a White House official told CNBC Friday morning.

“There are always exemptions and carve-outs,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s.

Trump might try to “limit the damage to the U.S. consumer” via those exemptions, Zandi said. For example, he could choose not to impose duties on apparel from China, avocados from Mexico or cheese from Quebec, he said.

More from Personal Finance:
What federal workers need to consider when evaluating offer to resign
2025 is a ‘renter’s market,’ housing economist says
Concert ticket prices have soared, but music fans don’t seem to care

A 25% Canada-Mexico tariff and 10% China tariff would raise about $1.3 trillion in revenue through 2035 on a net basis, the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimates. That revenue may be used to partially offset the cost of tax cuts, a package that might cost more than $5 trillion over 10 years.

However, a 10% additional tariff on China would shrink the U.S. economy by $55 billion during the Trump administration’s second term, assuming China retaliates with its own tariffs, according to an analysis by Warwick McKibbin and Marcus Noland, economists at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.

A 25% tariff on Mexico and Canada would cause a $200 billion reduction in U.S. gross domestic product, they found.

Meanwhile, economists expect more tariffs in the future.

On the campaign trail, Trump floated a 10% or 20% universal tariff on all imports and a tariff of at least 60% on Chinese goods, for example.

A 20% worldwide tariff and a 60% levy on Chinese goods would raise costs by $3,000 in 2025 for the average U.S. household, according to an October analysis by the Tax Policy Center.

“Broad-based, universal tariffs and the damage they will do is not really a debate,” Zandi said. “They will do damage. It’s just a question of how much and to whom.”

Tariffs on China would likely have such the largest direct impact on consumers — the bulk of what China exports to the U.S. is consumer goods like apparel, toys and electronics, Zandi said.

China is the “dominant supplier” of toys and sports equipment to the U.S., and provides 40% of its footwear imports, and 25% of its electronics and textiles, according to a recent analysis by PIIE economists.

Mexico and Canada tariffs would also “put upward pressure on food prices,” according to PIIE economists.

The nations are “important sources” of vegetables, accounting for 47% of total U.S. imports, and prepared foodstuffs (42%), for example. Transportation equipment and machinery, electronics and fuel are other sectors that stand to be most impacted, they found.

“The U.S. imports roughly 40% of its crude oil, with Canada as the dominant supplier,” Nigel Green, CEO of deVere Group, a financial consulting firm, said in a written statement.

“If oil is hit with tariffs, the impact could hit energy markets, pushing up costs for businesses and consumers,” Green wrote.

However, domestic energy producers, certain U.S. manufacturers and other industries “could see short-term gains from reduced competition,” he added.

Indirectly, U.S. producers might raise their prices because they face less foreign competition for certain goods, Lydia Cox, an assistant professor of economics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said during a recent webinar.

U.S. companies that use tariffed goods to manufacture their products might also raise prices for downstream goods, Cox said. For example, steel tariffs might lead to higher prices for cars, heavy machinery and other products that use steel.

“Unlike Canada and Mexico, for which retaliation would be inconceivable, China has retaliated in the past and would likely do so again,” PIIE economists wrote recently.

Further, tariffs may have the unintended consequence of destroying jobs, economists said.

Their ability to create U.S. jobs is “vastly, vastly overstated,” said Lovely of PIIE.

Take steel, for example. There are 80 workers in jobs in industries that use steel as an input for every one job that produces steel, Cox found in a recent paper.

Tariffs create “a lot of collateral damage along the way,” which is why economists warn against broad-based use, Cox said.