By Diana Olick | 3.28.23
Apartment rents have increased slightly for the past few months, as the seasonally stronger spring activity kicks in. But in March they were only up 2.6% from March of 2022.
That’s the smallest annual gain since April 2021, according to Apartment List. And, after last year’s record-setting pace, rent growth is now slightly below the pre-pandemic average of 2.8%. Some markets, such as San Francisco, are falling at a bigger rate.
Vacancies are also starting to rise back to normal levels, as more supply comes on the market. They stand at 6.6%, up from 6.4% in February.
Over 917,000 apartment units were under construction across the U.S. at the end of last year, which will increase the nation’s existing apartment base by 4.9%, according to RealPage Market Analytics. This is the highest number of units under construction since the early 1970s.
