Columbus, Ohio's Multifamily Sector is finding a way to show resilience despite supply flooding the market.
Rent growth stood out in a market report from Colliers, with the category enjoying a 2.6 percent year-over-year gain to $1,389 on average. The East Columbus and Northeast Delta submarkets enjoyed the largest individual gains, at 5.30 percent and 4.20 percent, respectively.
Also, vacancy dropped to 3.8 percent.
The two trends come despite Columbus seeing a record level of supply in the first half of the year, according to Colliers. The CRE firm forecasts that total deliveries in 2025 will reach 9,057 units.
"Vacancy lowered despite the influx of new supply and owners continue to tout record leasing velocities," Colliers said.
Currently, Downtown + German Village holds the largest concentration of multifamily product in the pipeline (15 percent), with North Columbus following at 14.1 percent.
However, Colliers does forecast that construction will taper during the second half. The trend projects to result in "rent growth and reducing the temporary concessions prevalent in the first half of 2025."
Another important element is the Columbus labor market, as unemployment declined by 10 basis points from the previous three months in the second quarter to 4.7 percent.
"The market is also set to benefit from a wave of major job-creating projects, including OhioHealth’s Riverside Women’s Health expansion and The Ohio State University’s new Wexner Medical Center Hospital Tower, both of which will bolster housing demand," it wrote.
For the third quarter, Colliers expects that rent growth in Columbus will peak at five percent in the third quarter before remaining steady at three percent.
In 2026, deliveries are expected to fall to 5,153 units, before seeing a jump to 8,638 units. Then, a year later, the projection calls for a drop to 4,837 units.
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