DALLAS—Having already declared 2014 to be the “Year of theApartment,” locally based Axiometrics now says thesector has gone one better, by posting annualized effective rentgrowth not seen in more than two years. It's against thisbackdrop of continued strength, as well as challenges, that themultifamily industry will convene next month in Los Angeles for theannual RealShare Apartments conference, scheduled forOct. 15 and 16.

Rent growth nationwide was 4.1% in August, thefirst time the annualized rate broke the 4% barrier since May 2012,Axiometrics says. Although rent growth is not at what the researchfirm calls “the heady 5% levels of mid-2011,” the nationalapartment market is now “four years into the sector's recovery fromthe Great Recession, and there hasn't been any notable decelerationin rent growth.”

In fact, says Axiometrics, August's national growth is only onebasis point lower than the figure for May '12, which was alsorounded to 4.1%. The last time effective rent growth could berounded above that mark was in October '11, when it reached4.4%.