National Multifamily Report – December 2024
How rents and absorption are trending in key markets, according to Yardi Matrix’s latest report.
The national average advertised asking rent decreased by $4 to $1,742 in December, for a 0.6 percent year-over-year increase, according to Yardi Matrix’s latest survey of 140 markets. The national occupancy rate remained unchanged in November, at 94.7 percent. Overall, 2024 was a steady year without notable changes, with multifamily performance steered by pockets of high supply growth. Meanwhile, the performance recorded by the SFR market lagged multifamily, posting a 0.8 percent year-over-year decline in rent growth, to $2,141.

Rent movement was either flat or below the 1.0 percent mark throughout the past 16 months, with metro-level growth varying significantly due to high supply in certain metros. New York City (5.0 percent year-over-year) remained in the lead for rent growth, followed by Kansas City (3.9 percent), Chicago (3.3 percent) and Columbus (3.1 percent). The largest rent declines were posted by Austin (-5.9 percent), Raleigh (-3.1 percent), Phoenix and Atlanta (both -2.9 percent). Meanwhile, occupancy remained steady, even in high-supply markets. Notable examples were Austin—where occupancy decreased just 20 basis points year-over-year through November, while completions as percentage of existing stock amounted to 7.5 percent—and Raleigh, where occupancy remained unchanged as deliveries represented 6.2 percent of total stock.
On a month-over-month basis, advertised asking rents fell 0.2 percent, down in 20 of the top 30 metros. The decline was primarily driven by a 0.3 percent drop in the Lifestyle segment, while Renter-by-Necessity rents slid 0.1 percent. Growth was led by Northeast markets including New York (up 0.3 percent—up 0.2 percent in Lifestyle and 0.7 percent in RBN) and New Jersey (up 0.8 percent—1.0 percent in Lifestyle and 0.5 percent in RBN). The largest declines were posted by Austin (-1.1 percent overall—down 1.2 percent in Lifestyle and -0.8 percent in RBN) and Denver (-1.0 percent overall—down 1.0 percent in Lifestyle and -0.9 percent in RBN).
Absorption points to solid demand, with regional variance
In 2024 through November, 404,000 units were absorbed nationally, while deliveries amounted to 442,000. While the 8.5 percent difference between the two metrics is healthy and points to strong demand, there are stark regional differences. In the Midwest and Northeast absorption surpassed completions, which boosted rent growth, while in the Southwest and West, the dynamic was reversed, which caused rents to decline.
On a metro lever, the divergence in multifamily rent was even more intense. Noteworthy examples include Suburban Chicago (3,000 units absorbed, 900 completed and rent growth at 3.9 percent), Central New Jersey (4,400 units absorbed, 1,600 completed, rents up 2.5 percent) and Detroit (3,000 units absorbed, 1,400 completed, rents up 3.0 percent). Completions higher than absorption were recorded in metros such as San Antonio (3,000 units absorbed, 8,800 completed, rents down 1.5 percent), the Southwest Florida Coast (2,800 units absorbed, 5,700 completed, rents down 4.0 percent) and Nashville (5,900 units absorbed, 10,100 completed, rents down 1.1 percent).
Entering 2025, several factors threaten multifamily demand, including President-elect Donald Trump’s intention to reduce immigration—estimated to have boosted the U.S. population by 2.8 million in 2024, and the interest rate conditions, likely to turn less favorable than anticipated.
The SFR market’s performance lagged multifamily at the close of 2024, with the average advertised asking rent down $7 in December to $2,141. The decline represents a 40-basis-point decline year-over-year to -0.8 percent. Despite a 10-basis-point decline in Lifestyle, occupancy remained unchanged at 95.0 percent in November. The market’s performance was uneven across the map, with SFRs surpassing multifamily in high-growth secondary metros such as Greenville, S.C., Salt Lake City, Denver and Nashville.
Read the full Yardi Matrix multifamily real estate report.