Can you please provide a source for the rent decreasing? Maybe a site showing the historical rental cost(s) for a given unit? I've not seen that happen in my market at all, I've only seen existing rental rates increase.

Edit: I think I see where a lot of our disconnect is coming from. We have no rent control here, rent very rarely decreases and is mostly pegged to comparative sq.ft. rentals in the area. Age of the property does not factor as much as location.