2023 Rent Growth
Yardi Matrix’s latest report on this key market indicator.
December marked the fifth consecutive month of rent declines, with the average U.S. asking rent dropping another $4 to $1,709, according to Yardi Matrix’s latest survey of 140 markets. Year-over-year rent growth stood at 0.3 percent in December, the weakest rent performance since 2010, excluding the 2020 pandemic year. Meanwhile, absorption in the multifamily market totaled 285,000 units in 2023 through November—in line with recent years, when rents appreciated considerably—and occupancy remained unchanged at 94.8 percent. SFRs outperformed multifamily in 2023, with rents down $1 to $2,123 in December, for a 1.2 percent year-over-year increase.
—Posted on Jan. 31, 2024
The seasonal winter slowdown led to tepid performance across the U.S. multifamily market, with the average national asking rent declining $6 to $1,713 in November, down for the third consecutive month, according to the Yardi Matrix’s latest survey of 140 markets. On a year-over-year basis, the U.S. rate rose 0.4 percent, unchanged from September. Meanwhile, the occupancy rate remained at 94.9 percent. Rents declined in the SFR segment, too, down $8 to $2,117 in November, for a 0.7 percent year-over-year increase. Occupancy was unchanged in October, at 94.9 percent.
—Posted on Dec. 19, 2023
The final quarter of 2023 began on a somewhat gloomy note for the U.S. multifamily fundamentals, with the average asking rent down $3 to $1,718 in October, a 0.4 percent decrease year-over-year, according to Yardi Matrix’s latest monthly multifamily report. In addition, the national occupancy rate marked the first decline in four months, falling to 94.9 percent. Meanwhile, the SFR sector remained firm, with occupancy at 95.9 percent as of September, and rent growth at 1.0 percent year-over-year, to $2,121 in October, a $2 drop from the previous month.
Multifamily demand and absorption were still at fairly normal levels—during the first three quarters of 2023, more than 250,000 units were absorbed nationally, which aligns with the 300,000-unit annual average between 2017 and 2020.
—Posted on Nov. 30, 2023
At the start of the season when typically rent growth flattens, the average U.S. multifamily rent posted a 0.8 percent year-over-year increase to $1,722, which equates to a 60-basis-point or $6 drop from the August rate, and 490 basis points below the rate recorded at the beginning of the year, according to Yardi Matrix’s latest survey of 140 markets. It also marks the lowest year-over-year growth rate since the pandemic recovery in early 2021, and the first time since the global financial crisis in 2009 when national rents decreased in September. Occupancy held steady at 95 percent. Meanwhile, single-family rents fell for the second consecutive month, down $4 to $2,104, a 0.4 percent year-over-year increase and 10 basis points below the previous month. Occupancy rates remained flat at 95.9 percent, signaling healthy demand.
—Posted on Oct. 31, 2023
The multifamily real estate industry maintained a healthy performance in August, with the average U.S. asking rent up $1 to $1,728, a 1.5 percent year-over-year increase and 20 basis points below the July rate, according to the latest Yardi Matrix survey of 140 metros. Rent growth marked a 420-basis-point decline since the beginning of the year, tightly tied to supply expansion on a metro level. Occupancy in the sector remained at 95 percent for the past four months. Meanwhile, single-family rents rose 0.5 percent year-over-year to $2,104, signaling deceleration in the high-end segment.
—Posted on Sep. 29, 2023
The U.S. multifamily market posted a solid performance in mid-2023, with asking rents in July advancing $2 to $1,729. Still, the growth rate remained on a moderating trend, up just 1.6 percent year-over-year—down 30 basis points from June and 400 basis points from the beginning of the year—according to Yardi Matrix’s latest survey of 140 markets. While Sun Belt metros returned to a more average rent performance, growth was led by markets in the Northeast and Midwest. Generally, rent growth is boosted by low supply expansion and high occupancy rates. Nationally, the occupancy rate remained flat at 95.0 percent for the fourth consecutive month and marks a 0.8 percent year-over-year decline. The SFR segment was also strong, with asking rents at $2,108 in July, up 1.2 percent year-over-year, and occupancy at 95.8 percent.
—Posted on Aug. 31, 2023
The U.S. multifamily average asking rent gained $7 in June, to $1,726, according to Yardi Matrix’s latest survey of 140 markets. The uptick is the equivalent of a 1.8 percent year-over-year rent growth, 74 basis points below the rate registered in May and 3.7 percent lower than the January rate. Although the market is displaying resilience, the rate is the lowest since 2011, excluding the pandemic year. Still, the average national rent increased by $20 (1.2 percent) in the second quarter and $23 (1.4 percent) during the first half of the year. Demand was sustained by the employment market—up by 1.5 million jobs during the first half of 2023—and weak home sales.
Occupancy rates stabilized at a healthy 95 percent. Single-family rentals had rents rise by $5 in June to $2,103, representing a 1.3 percent year-over-year increase, down 80 basis points from May. Yardi Matrix reshuffled the metros highlighted in this report: Columbus, Detroit, New Jersey (Central and Northern), Richmond and San Diego are in, while the Inland Empire, Kansas City, Orange County, Sacramento and San Jose were removed.
—Posted on Jul. 24, 2023
The national multifamily market performance remained steady, according to the latest Yardi Matrix survey of 140 markets, with rents gaining $7 in May to $1,716. This represents a 2.6 percent year-over-year increase—the lowest level since March 2021—and 70 basis points below the April rate. Between January and May 2023, the average U.S. asking rent rose $18, or 1.0 percent. Occupancy remained at 95.0 percent in April, falling annually in all but one of Matrix’s top 30 markets—New York (98.0 percent). San Jose’s occupancy remained flat, and Las Vegas posted the largest decline, down 180 basis points. Meanwhile, the average rent for single-family rentals rose to a new all-time high in May to $2,100, up 2.1 percent year-over-year.
—Posted on Jun. 26, 2023
The U.S. multifamily market remained resilient and the average asking rent inched up $5 in April, to $1,709, according to Yardi Matrix’s latest survey of 140 markets. The rent appreciation is the equivalent of a 3.2 percent year-over-year increase, down 80 basis points from March, and half the growth posted in the same month between 2015 to 2019. Rent gains were positive year-over-year everywhere except for Phoenix and Las Vegas. Occupancy remained flat at 95 percent. Meanwhile, the average rent for single-family rentals rose to a new all-time high, at $2,089, up 2.3 percent year-over-year, 60 basis points below the March growth rate. The sector’s occupancy rate stood at 95.5 percent in March.
—Posted on May 31, 2023
Despite persisting volatility in the financial markets, multifamily property fundamentals remain stable. The average U.S. multifamily asking rent increased slightly in March, up $3 to $1,706, according to Yardi Matrix’s latest survey of 140 markets. Year-over-year rent growth remained on a slowing trend, up 4.0 percent, 90 basis points below February’s rate and the lowest level since April 2021. Moreover, 21 of the top 30 Matrix metros posted rent gains in March, while the national occupancy remained unchanged during the first quarter of 2023. Meanwhile, the average rent for single-family rentals gained $5 to $2,079, a 2.8 percent year-over-year increase. Occupancy in the sector remained strong at 95.5 percent in February.
—Posted on Apr. 28, 2023
The average U.S. multifamily asking rent remained flat at $1,702 in February, according to Yardi Matrix’s latest survey of 140 markets. Year-over-year rent growth continued to decelerate, up 4.8 percent, a 70-basis-point decrease from January, marking the lowest increase in nearly two years. But this stagnating performance is not necessarily a bad sign, as in the six years before the post-pandemic surge, rents grew by an average of $2. After the seasonal winter slowdown, rent growth will depend on household growth and new stock and remains to be seen if it follows the typical spring pattern when rents typically pick up. Occupancy stood at 95.2 percent, 100 basis points below the late-2021 peak. The single-family rental market mirrored the multifamily sector, with the average U.S. asking rent flat at $2,071, the equivalent of a 3.4 percent year-over-year increase, far from the 14.8 percent growth rate registered a year ago.
—Posted on Mar. 29, 2023
The new year started with encouraging signs for the national multifamily market according to Yardi Matrix’s latest survey of 140 markets. Multifamily rents remained flat in the middle of the typically slow wintertime, at $1,701 in January. Still, year-over-year growth continued to decline, at 5.5 percent, a 70-basis-point decrease from the previous month, which is not surprising, as the growth of the last two years would be impossible to sustain. Occupancy remained above the 95 percent mark. The single-family rental market held up well, too, posting a 4.2 percent year-over-year increase in rents, to $2,070, up $1 from the previous month.
The job market—which posted 517,000 new jobs in January, following nearly 5 million new jobs in 2022—points to healthy demand so far, alleviating some of the concerns for the multifamily industry. In addition, the unemployment rate stood at 3.4 percent and wage growth remained steady.
—Posted on Feb. 28, 2023
