That national apartment rental market is continuing to see record growth—but at a more moderate pace.
That’s according to RealPage Inc., which tracks the rental-housing industry, which found that new leases in February increased 0.75 percent month-over-month. While that was the largest increase for a February on record, it wasn’t by much—which RealPage analysts say is a notable shift.
February’s increase was the smallest spread between current-versus-average for any month since March 2021.
Year-over-year, effective rents for new leases were up 15.4 percent nationally—a high, but a more moderate increase.
Meanwhile, occupancy remained at a record high of 97.6 percent nationally in February 2022.
RealPage anticipates that the market will see somewhat larger current-versus-normal splits return starting in March and into the 2nd quarter, though not to the degree seen in 2021. Demand is high, and expected to remain so, in the Sun Belt markets, with Florida markets claiming nine of the top 10 spots with year-over-year rent growth exceeding 24 percent.