The Multifamily Market 5 Years After the Pandemic
Find out which markets had the highest cumulative rent growth between 2020 and 2025.
As we mark the five years since COVID-19 lockdowns began, it is evident that the pandemic has reshaped housing trends in Sun Belt metros. Many individuals opted to relocate to these lower-cost regions for more space, leading to increased population and migration that have altered performance metrics within these metros.
Moody’s first quarter data indicates that vacancies in the national multifamily market are holding steady at 6.3 percent, while average rents are at $1,926, following a period of rapid increases. Although the sector has struggled to meet demands over the past two years which has created tight market conditions for renters, the recent population boom and steady renter households amid record-level inventory growth have mitigated the rise in vacancy rates.
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From March 2020 to March 2025, Austin experienced the steepest inventory growth at 30.2 percent. This rapid expansion also led to the sharpest rise in vacancy rates over the five years, reaching 11.6 percent in the current quarter. However, Austin’s steady job market and continuous population growth helped decrease vacancy rates by 30 basis points in the first quarter.
Meanwhile, Miami, Palm Beach, Fla., and Fort Lauderdale, Fla., saw their cumulative rent growth exceeding a noteworthy 48 percent over the same five years. Unlike Austin, these South Florida metros had more limited inventory growth and did not expand as rapidly.
Positive demographic trends, driven by an influx of new residents and strong population growth, combined with a constrained supply of multifamily housing, have heightened demand, leading to elevated rents and reduced affordability for many renters. Despite this, all top 10 metros with the highest post-COVID-19 cumulative rent growth reported positive year-over-year rent growth in the first quarter of 2025.Â
—Posted on April 30, 2025
