WASHINGTON, DC—The second quarter's comparatively narrow spread among the four indexes that comprise the National Multifamily Housing Council's Quarterly Survey of Apartment Market Conditions widened somewhat in Q3. Although the Market Tightness (37), Sales Volume (45) and Equity Finance (46) Indexes remained below the breakeven level of 50, the Debt Financing Index rose above 50 for the first time in five quarters.

“The apartment market is headed into a seasonally slow leasing period with new deliveries easing upward pressure on rents and occupancy rates in many markets around the country,” says Mark Obrinsky, NMHC's chief economist. “The big increase in multifamily starts in 2015 and 2016 is finally filtering through to the marketplace on a broad basis.”

Obrinsky adds, though, that leasing activity appears to have picked up in Texas and Florida in the aftermath of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. “Some respondents also noted that fires on the West Coast may be pushing occupancy rates up,” he adds. “Elsewhere, new deliveries are leading to concessions becoming more commonplace.”