Kansas City Multifamily Report – August 2026
Asking rents are rising steadily.
Kansas City fundamentals were predominantly positive at the start of summer, as asking rent gains outperformed despite softer occupancy. Average advertised asking rents rose 0.5 percent, on a trailing three-month basis, to $1,383, ahead of the U.S. increase of 0.2 percent to $1,763. Year-over-year, area rents advanced 2.4 percent, the fourth-highest rate among the top 30 U.S. markets and well above the 0.2 percent national average. Meanwhile, occupancy in stabilized assets fell 90 basis points over 12 months, to 93.9 percent in June.
Kansas City employment rose 0.4 percent through April, while the U.S. rate contracted 0.1 percent. Area unemployment stood at 3.5 percent in May, below the 3.8 percent rates for Missouri and Kansas, and the 4.3 percent national figure. The metro lost 700 net jobs in the 12 months ending in April, as gains across four sectors were outweighed by losses across six, led by leisure and hospitality (-1,600 jobs). The May opening of the KC Streetcar Riverfront Extension and Panasonic Energy’s ramp-up in De Soto added infrastructure and manufacturing anchors to the metro’s economic profile.
Supply remained restrained in the first half of 2026, with 680 units delivered, equal to 0.4 percent of stock. Developers had 9,269 units underway as of June, while construction starts fell 67 percent year-to-date. Investment sales totaled some $427 million in the first six months of 2026, with the average per-unit price sliding to $171,057, below the $184,594 U.S. average.
