Midwest Picks Up Where Sun Belt Apartment Rent Growth Left Off
Renters flock to “last bastion” of affordable rental areas.
The Midwest has firmly taken hold of the top US region for apartment rent growth, a trend that could continue into 2023, according to a year-end report from Apartment List.
It sees signs of demand heating up in Midwestern markets with St. Louis, Indianapolis, Kansas City, and Cincinnati metros all ranking among the top 10 for fastest rent growth in 2022.
Rent growth in each of the markets slowed this year compared to 2021, a sign largely reflective of the broad cooldown in the national rental market, according to its report.
“After the spike in Sun Belt rents, the Midwest may now be the nation’s last bastion of rental affordability and seems to be drawing interest from price-conscious and geographically flexible renters,” according to Apartment List.
In 2021, Apartment Lists points out that all 10 metros with the fastest rent growth were in Sun Belt states. This year, however, rent growth in these markets has cooled significantly. Tampa, Phoenix, Las Vegas, and Jacksonville top that group.
Suburbs’ Rent Growth Outpacing Urban
Among the nation’s large metro areas, rent growth in the suburbs is outpacing that of the downtown areas in 2022, the report indicated.
Markets further from the urban core are seeing faster rent growth as many workers have “at least hybrid remote flexibility,” so “proximity to job centers has grown relatively less important, and this has driven a shift in preferences that continues to persist,” the report said.