Apartment retention rates are soaring back to lockdown-era highs, as more renters are determining that staying in place is often the best and most affordable option – given a remarkable lack of alternatives for all types of housing and for all price points.

The share of renters choosing to renew expiring leases in August 2021 surged 4 percentage points year-over-year, the largest increase on record. That brought the overall retention rate to 57.2%, just shy of the historical peaks set during the height of the lockdowns in April-May 2020. The abrupt snap-back in retention over the last two months marks an abrupt turnaround from a pattern of normalizing retention rates seen since last summer.

What's driving the rebound?

• Lack of alternative options

There's a lack of available inventory in all housing types – apartments, single-family rentals and for-sale homes. Apartment occupancy hit an all-time high of 97.1% in August. Single-family rental occupancy is at the highest level since 1994. And the number of active listings among for-sale homes remains far below normal.