Small submarkets tend to see bigger percentage apartment growth rates due to their relative size, but eight large submarkets across the country saw their existing apartment count increase by 50% or more during the past five years, according to a RealPage report.
The Avondale/Goodyear/West Glendale submarket of Phoenix had the largest percentage inventory change over the past five years, growing 116.7% to 32,641 units this year. The markets are all located within Maricopa County, one of the fastest-growing counties in the country between 2020 and 2024. By comparison, apartment inventory across the country increased by 11.3% during this time frame, and the Phoenix market had average growth of 21.5%, said RealPage.
Second on the list is the East Austin submarket of Austin, Texas, which had 30,571 units at the beginning of this year, up 92.5% from 2020. It was one of five states' submarkets that made the list and one of two Austin submarkets. The other is Round Rock/Georgetwon, which placed fourth on the list, with apartment inventory growing 69.9% to 32,646 units. Overall, Austin’s apartment inventory grew 33.3% over the past five years, the fastest in the nation, as it saw a notable increase in the renter-age population drawn in part by its growing appeal as a tech hub.
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Frisco, a submarket of Dallas, grew apartment inventory by 69.9% to 38,670 units to place third, and Allen/McKinney placed fifth with 41,342 units this year, up 67.3%. Allen and McKinney are both located in Collin County, which had the nation’s third-fastest population growth county from 2020 to 2024, with an increase of about 179,000 people.
In seventh place was Katy, Texas, a submarket of Houston, which has 30,748 units this year, up 52.1%. Katy is located at the intersection of Harris, Fort Bend and Waller counties. Harris County was the nation’s fastest-growing county between 2020 and 2024.
Outside of Texas, Central Nashville’s apartment inventory grew 56.6% to 35,328 units this year to place sixth on the list, and the Northeast Denver submarket grew by 51.7% to 32,182 units, placing eighth. Central Nashville was the only urban core submarket to make the list. Northeast Denver is also slightly urban but is located in Denver County, which saw a smaller relative population growth of about 11,400 people between 2020 and 2024, according to the report.
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Kristen Smithberg
Kristen Smithberg is a Colorado-based freelance writer who covers commercial real estate, insurance, benefits and retirement topics for BenefitsPRO and other industry publications.
