Apartment
for
rent
in St.
Paul,
Minnesota.
Michael
Siluk
|
UCG
|
Universal
Images
Group
|
Getty
Images
Driven
by
the
work-from-home
dynamic,
as
well
as
by
new
migration
patterns,
both
single-family
and
multifamily
rent
prices
were
red-hot
during
the
first
years
of
the
pandemic.
Now
different
drivers
are
pushing
some
rents
higher
—
and
throwing
cold
water
on
others.
Multifamily
rents
in
April
were
0.8%
lower
than
they
were
in
the
same
month
last
year,
according
to
Apartment
List.
Rents
cooled
because
a
massive
amount
of
new
supply
entered
the
market,
with
still
more
in
the
pipeline.
Apartment
rents
did
rise
for
the
third
straight
month,
but
the
growth,
at
0.5%,
is
very
small.
Rents
usually
begin
to
rise
in
the
spring,
and
the
gain
this
year
is
not
only
smaller
than
usual
but
smaller
than
the
previous
month’s
gain.
The
national
median
rent
in
April
was
$1,396.
“This
is
typically
the
time
of
year
when
rent
growth
is
accelerating
heading
into
the
busy
moving
season,
so
the
fact
that
growth
stalled
this
month
could
be
a
sign
that
the
market
is
headed
for
another
slow
summer,”
according
to
the
Apartment
List
report.
Apartment
vacancies
are
also
climbing,
hitting
6.7%
as
of
March,
marking
the
highest
reading
since
August
2020.
New
multifamily
building
permits
are
slowing
down,
but
the
number
of
units
currently
under
construction
is
near
a
record
high,
and
last
year
saw
the
most
new
apartments
hit
the
market
in
over
30
years.
Single-family
rents
are
much
stronger,
up
3.4%
in
March
year
over
year,
according
to
a
new
report
from
CoreLogic.
That
annual
increase,
however,
continues
to
shrink
as
more
supply
comes
onto
the
market
from
build-for-rent
companies.
Roughly
18,000
single-family,
built-for-rent
homes
were
started
during
the
first
quarter,
a
20%
increase
from
the
first
quarter
of
2023,
according
to
an
analysis
of
Census
data
by
the
National
Association
of
Home
Builders.
Over
the
last
four
quarters,
80,000
such
homes
began
construction,
representing
a
nearly
16%
jump
from
the
prior
four
quarters.
“U.S.
single-family
rent
growth
strengthened
overall
in
March,
though
some
weaknesses
are
revealed
in
the
latest
numbers,”
said
Molly
Boesel,
principal
economist
for
CoreLogic.
“Overbuilt
areas,
such
as
Austin,
Texas,
continued
to
soften,
decreasing
by
3.5%
annually
in
March.”
The
continued
strength
overall
in
single-family
rents
indicates
that
potential
homebuyers
who
are
priced
out
of
the
home-purchase
market
are
choosing
to
rent
similar
alternatives,
according
to
Boesel.
Mortgage
rates
have
risen
back
into
the
7%
range,
and
home
prices
continue
to
rise,
making
it
harder
to
buy
a
home.
Of
the
nation’s
20
largest
cities,
Seattle
saw
the
highest
year-over-year
increase
in
single-family
rents
at
6.3%,
followed
by
New
York
at
5.3%
and
Boston
at
5.2%.
Those
leading
the
declines
were
Austin,
Texas,
down
3.5%;
Miami,
down
3.2%;
and
New
Orleans,
down
1.4%.
For
the
first
time
in
14
years,
however,
single-family
attached
properties,
namely
townhomes,
posted
a
year-over-year
rent
decline.
“The
decrease
in
the
attached
segment
is
being
driven
by
a
subset
of
markets,
mostly
in
Florida,
but
including
Austin
and
New
Orleans.
As
multifamily
apartments
are
being
completed,
some
markets
are
gaining
rental
supply,
which
competes
with
the
attached
segment
of
the
single-family
rental
market,”
Boesel
added.
