Are soaring apartment rents a thing of the past? Maybe, if the results from a recent research study are to be believed.
Yardi Matrix reported that in March, the average national apartment rent rose slightly, by $4 to $1,371. That is an increase, yes, but it’s a small one. It’s also the first time since the summer of 2017 that the average national apartment rent actually rose.
Yardi reported that this is the first time rents moved more than $1 either up or down since last July.
The national average apartment rent grew 2.5 percent when compared to March of 2017. But it also dropped 10 basis points when compared to February of this year. Overall, rents have declerated since peaking at 5.4 percent year-over-year growth in early 2016.
The sluggish pace of rent growth can be tied to an increase in supply. Yardi estimates that about 620,000 apartment units have been added to the U.S. multifamily stock in the last two years.
