DALLAS—A harsh winter in many regions of the US couldn't put thefreeze on multifamily rent growth during the firstquarter, according to reports from locally based Axiometrics andPhoenix-based Yardi. Axiometrics says annualeffective rent growth nationally reached 5.0% or better forFebruary and March, the first such two-month streak since thesummer of 2011. For April, rents grew 4.3% year-over-year acrossthe 84 markets tracked by Yardi, led by San Francisco, Portland,Denver and Seattle.

Over the past six months, rents have risen 0.7% nationally, saysYardi, citing a harsh winter that may have delayed some from movinginto apartments and put a damper on rent growth in cold-weatherclimates. On a six-month moving average basis, rents increased by4.4%, which compares favorably to 2.8% for the year-earlierperiod.

Evidence of the winter's effects on the sector, as well as signsthat these fefects are diminishing, appears in Axiometrics figures.The firm notes that following a five-month streak of decreases, thenational occupancy rate for March was 94.9%. That's a 21-basispoint increase from February's 94.7% and 36 bps above March 2014's94.6%.