According to a recent report from Realtor.com®, the median monthly rent fell slightly in October to $1,747 nationwide, much to the relief of squeezed-out renters.

Rents were down about $25 from September and down $47 from their July peak.

While rental prices are still up 4.7 percent year-over-year, October's jump was the lowest in 18 months.

"The rental market is showing signs of returning to normal," said Jiayi Xu, an economist at Realtor.com." Renters may be starting to feel a glimmer of relief."

The report looked at rents for apartment buildings, private condominiums, townhouses and single-family homes in October. Only studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom units were included.

The rental market typically peaks in the summer, when families are trying to secure housing before their children start school and college students are trying to lock in housing. Demand usually slows in the fall and winter.

"Going forward, I think rents will continue to grow, but at a much lower rate," Xu said.

Rents for studio apartments saw the biggest increase, up 6.7 percent year-over-year. Rents for one-bedroom apartments rose 4.5 percent, and rents for two-bedroom apartments rose 3.7 percent.

However, renters shouldn't breathe a sigh of relief just yet.

According to a recent Avail survey of more than 2,700 independent landlords and tenants, most landlords plan to increase the rent of at least one unit over the next year, albeit not by as much. Less than one-fifth of landlords plan to raise rents by more than 10 percent.

Almost two-thirds of renters who have lived in their homes for one to two years have seen their rents rise, and only 6 percent have been able to negotiate a smaller increase than their landlord initially sought, according to Avail.

Higher rents make it more difficult for many renters to save for a home. As a result, nearly 70 percent of renters are considering moving to reduce costs. They hope to save about $200 a month.

"While it's encouraging to see smaller price increases, it's important to understand that many renters have absorbed significant increases in their monthly rent costs over the past few years," Ryan Coon, vice president of rentals at Realtor.com, said in a statement." High inflation and the cost of maintenance and repairs are hitting landlords, who are having to raise rents to cover the higher cost of owning their properties and making them less likely to be open to negotiating with new tenants."

Of the 50 largest metro areas, only four saw double-digit annual price increases in October, according to Realtor.com.

Chicago led the way, as rents in the Windy City increased 23.7 percent year-over-year.

They were followed by Providence, Rhode Island (13.6 percent), Boston (12.8 percent) and New York City (12.7 percent). (Large cities include major cities and surrounding towns, suburbs and smaller urban areas).

Meanwhile, rents declined in eight of the 50 largest metros. Riverside, California, experienced the largest year-over-year decline in October, at -4.7%, according to Realtor.com.

"A year ago, there were five to 10 applications per rental. And now there's probably not one." said Doug Shepherd, a property manager in Riverside and a Realtor with Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Champions." Demand dropped sharply in October."

He attributes the drop in demand to general inflation and the fact that the most aggressive buyers and sellers have acquired homes.

There is a limit to how much renters can spend each month - especially with inflation pushing up the price of gasoline, food and almost everything else.

"Everything has gotten more expensive," he says." And now, the market has to adjust downward."