What to expect from the Cincinnati apartment market the rest of this year? According to Marcus & Millichap, the market should see increasing rents and low vacancies.
That’s the good news from Marcus & Millichap’s 2018 Multifamily Research 2018 Investment Forecast for the Cincinnati area. In fact, Marcus & Millichap is predicting that 2018 will end with a multifamily vacancy rate of 4.4 percent in the Cincinnati market. This is up 10 basis points from the end of 2017, but still ranks as one of the lowest vacancy rates this sector has seen in decades.
The biggest positive for owners? Marcus & Millichap predicts that the average effective multifamily rent will rise to $970 a month. That’s up from last year’s mark of $935. According to the report, monthly apartment rents in this market have appreciated nearly 25 percent in the past five years.
The apartment market in the Cincinnati area, though, is slowing down a bit, at least when it comes to new construction. Marcus & Millichap predicts that the area will see 1,600 new apartment united added to the multifamily stock this year. That’s down from the 2,500 new units added last year.
The biggest apartment completion in the next 12 months here? Marcus & Millichap says that it will be The RED apartments, a 246-unit building in the Madisonville neighborhood of the city.
Apartment demand, both from renters and investors, will be highest in Cincinnati’s downtown and surrounding areas, Marcus & Millichap reports. While the neighborhoods adjacent to the University of Cincinnati campus will also see heavy interest throughout the year. What makes these areas so attractive to investors? Low vacancy rates and, in the case of the University of Cincinnati area, high demand by the continuously growing university population.