Apartment Rents Continued to Rise in April
The multifamily industry is beginning its busy season when most of the annual rent growth typically occurs.
Rent growth is continuing to pick up steam again, after a brief winter cooldown.
Apartment List’s national index showed rents were up by 0.9 percent in April.
During the first four months of 2022, rents have increased by a total of just 2.5 percent, according to Apartment List’s May report, “though we’re only beginning the busy season for the rental market, when the bulk of annual rent growth typically occurs,” the company said.
“So far this year, rents are growing more slowly than they did in 2021, but faster than the growth we observed in the years immediately preceding the pandemic,” according to the report.
Year-over-year rent growth currently stands at a staggering 16.3 percent, but most of that growth took place last spring and summer.
Rents increased this month in 93 of the nation’s 100 largest cities, with Sun Belt markets in Florida and Arizona continuing to see some of the nation’s fastest growth.
Vacancy Rates Dips
Apartment List reported that the national vacancy index dipped slightly this month for the first time since August.
Its vacancy index stands at 4.6 percent, up from a low of 3.8 percent last August, but well below the pre-pandemic norm.
RealPage reporter Carl Whitaker singled out the Sioux Falls, S.D., market this week, reporting that its occupancy is nearing 99 percent after having a 90 percent occupancy market back in Q1 2018.