75 Percent of All New Apartments in 2015 Were High-End
RENTCafe examines national luxury housing development trends.
More and more trendy new apartment buildings are springing up in cities across the country. An unusually high number of upscale rental developments are being built at an unprecedented pace, redefining rental markets nationwide. The movement has spread beyond mature metro areas like Miami or San Francisco. The apartment construction focus has shifted significantly, and cities as small as Kansas City, Mo., or Milwaukee are emerging as the new markets for luxury.
A closer look at the data reveals that in 2015, 75 percent of all large multi-family rental developments completed were high-end rentals. The ratio of high-end to total apartments completed increased by a staggering 63 percent from 2012. In absolute numbers, this translates into 896 luxury multi-family projects of 50+ units (out of a total of 1,188 total projects) completed in 2015, compared to 382 luxury multifamily projects of 50+ units completed three years prior.
Moreover, early 2016 data suggests that the luxury apartment market sees no sign of slowdown. Of all large apartment buildings finalized in the first quarter of 2016, 79 percent were categorized as luxury.