Multifamily rents climbed 15.4 percent in one year

Multifamily asking rents picked up another $10 in February to reach a national average $1,628, and year-over-year growth recorded a 15.4 percent bump, according to the new Yardi Matrix Multifamily National Report.

Single-family rentals also continue to surpass past performance, SFR rents increased by 14.9 percent year-over-year through February.

While most anticipated that the steep upward trajectory for the rental sector would have moderated in the first quarter of 2022, the market continues to surprise. Of the top 30 metros tracked by Yardi® Matrix, 90 percent saw double-digit rent growth year-over-year.

“Rent growth is likely to start decelerating soon relative to the big increases that began in March 2021, but demand shows little sign of slowing,” say analysts. Nationally, occupancy rates are up 120 basis points year-over-year. Occupancy upticks are particularly strong in Texas and Florida metros, but also in gateway markets that lost residents during the pandemic. New York, San Jose and Chicago are among the cities seeing renters return.

Underlying the headlines are the effects of a long-term national housing shortage, notes the report. In January 2021, occupancy rates were 95 percent or higher in just 13 of the top 30 markets, but a year later only two of the top 30 are below that level. In another telling indicator, single-family home sale prices were up an average of 18.8 percent last year.