Perhaps the biggest story of 2021 for commercial real estate was the huge spike in apartment rents, of an unprecedented 17.8% nationally, according to stats provided by Apartment List. In fact, it reports that the national median rent ($1,309) is now $119 greater than where it projects it would have been if rent growth since the start of the pandemic had been in line with the average growth rates we saw in 2018 and 2019. How phenomenal was the growth in 2021? It far outpaced that of any prior year in Apartment List's estimates, which go back to 2017. "Over those five years, 2018 had the second fastest growth, with an increase of 3.2%; growth in 2021 was more than five times that rate."

Some cities, of course, saw faster growth than others. The above slideshow captures the top ten cities with the fastest-growing rents, per Apartment List's data.