U.S. multifamily market posted solid gains in 2019

Boosted by a healthy job market and low unemployment, the U.S. multifamily sector posted steady rent growth in 2019, according to a new report from Yardi Matrix.

Rents grew 3% for the year. “Fundamentally, the market is sound, with no red flags on the immediate horizon,” the report says, despite a seasonal $1 drop in the average U.S. rent in December.

Twenty-one of the top 30 metros tracked by Yardi Matrix recorded rent growth of at least 2.6% in December. That group includes primary markets such as Washington, D.C., and Boston as well as secondary markets like Philadelphia, Charlotte, N.C., Indianapolis and Austin, Texas.

Nashville, Tenn., and Raleigh, N.C., joined Phoenix, Las Vegas and Sacramento, Calif., as the year-over-year rent growth leaders in December. Phoenix and Las Vegas have topped the rankings since October 2018.

One of the hardest decisions multifamily developers and their design teams have to make is what mix of amenities they’re going to put into each project. A lot of squiggly factors go into that decision: the type of community, the geographic market, local recreation preferences, climate/weather conditions, physical parameters, and of course the budget. The permutations are mind-boggling.

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