Columbus Multifamily Report – Spring 2021
While rents continued to grow, completions were also up despite pandemic setbacks.
Columbus rent evolution, click to enlarge
The multifamily market in Columbus remained steadfast in the face of current economic hardships. Rents stayed positive throughout 2020, even at times when the national figure was declining. On a trailing three-month basis through February, rates rose 0.3 percent to $1,037, while the U.S. average was up only 0.1 percent to $1,399.
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Columbus sales volume and number of properties sold, click to enlarge
The Columbus employment pool contracted by 70,500 positions last year—down 7.2 percent year-over-year—with losses in nine of the 10 major sectors. For the first time since 2010, the number of unemployed people in the metro surpassed 100,000 last April, when a record 145,561 residents were jobless. Preliminary Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows that by the end of 2020, some 95,000 people had returned to work.
Some 4,200 units came online in Columbus in 2020, 25 percent more than during the previous year. Developers were also working on almost 7,500 units across the metro as of February, equal to 4.2 percent of existing stock. Meanwhile, investment volume was halved last year, compared to 2019, to the lowest level in more than five years—$297.7 million.
