Still steady. That’s the best way to describe the U.S. multifamily market, according to the latest research from Yardi Matrix.
According to the latest National Multifamily Report from Yardi Matrix, the average advertised monthly asking rent for U.S. apartment units stood at $1,755 in March.
That’s up $5 from February and an increase of 0.4% for the first quarter of the year, according to Yardi Matrix. U.S. advertised rents rose 0.3% on a month-over-month basis in March. Just six of the top 30 metropolitan areas tracked by Yardi Matrix registered drops in asking rents in March.
Several Midwest markets saw solid rent growth, led by Chicago and Kansas City, Missouri, which both saw average apartment rents grow by 3.7% in March on a year-over-year basis. In Columbus, Ohio, average multifamily rents grew by 3.5% on a year-over-year basis.
Multifamily occupancy levels remain strong, too. Yardi Matrix said that the national occupancy rate in February stood at 94.5%, a rate that has not changed in three months.
The single-family rental market is also showing strength. Yardi Matrix reported that nationally advertised rates for single-family rentals rose in March to an average of $2,169 a month. Occupancy rates for this housing category stood at 94.7%, a percentage that was the same a year ago.
Single-family rental monthly rent growth has been strong in the Midwest, with Kansas City seeing monthly rents in this sector rising 5.4% on a year-over-year basis in March, Detroit seeing an increase of 4.9%, Columbus 4.5%, the Minneapolis-St. Paul market 3.4% and Chicago 2.7%.
