RealPage, an American multinational company that provides property management software for all rental-housing industries, recently published data indicating that apartment or multi-family housing occupancy hit the highest its highest levels in August 2019 since the tech boom in 2000. Additionally, August 2019 was the seventh consecutive month that apartment occupancy has risen.
Occupancy rates around the country averaged 96.3% in August 2019, up from 96.2% in July 2019. All four regions in the country shared in this occupancy rise:
- Northeast occupancy rate – 97.1%
- West occupancy rate – 96.6%
- Midwest occupancy rate – 96.5%
- South occupancy rate – 95.7%
Eight of the 50 largest multi-family or apartment rental markets was weaker occupancy rates in August 2019 than in July and only three of those markets saw occupancy rates below 95%. Nine of the 50 largest markets saw occupancy rates surge beyond 97% in August 2019.
Annual rent growth also continued its rise of 3% or more for the twelve consecutive month in August 2019. (The last time such annual rent growth consistently rose on an upward trajectory was in 2016.)
- Average rent of $1,418/month in August 2019, up from $1,414/month in July 2019
- Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale the top market for rent growth in August 2019 with a +8.2% increase from the month before
- Louis MO saw quickest acceleration in rent-growth in August 2019 with its own 18-year high
- 33 of largest rental markets saw annual rent growth increase from its 2018 levels
- Only Florida and California experienced slowing rent growth in /august 2019.
Thanks to HousingWire’s Julie Falcon for source data.
Also read: https://timandjulieharris.com/2019/09/24/whats-hot-and-whats-not-in-septembers-housing-trends.html
