Progress can make a big difference in investors and developers' mindsets even if it's not back to what had occurred at a peak. Though apartment demand in the second quarter of this year in the U.S. didn't compensate fully for the net move-outs of last year, some markets are showing strong resilience and fueling a sense of optimism, according to data RealPage Market Analytics recently released.

In this year's second quarter, demand for apartments hit 83,450 units. Annual absorption was still in the negative numbers of -44,096 units. However, in about half of the country's largest 50 apartment markets, second quarter demand rebounded to push them into positive annual demand. Nine markets also posted performances that accounted for more than 100% of their market's annual demand. 

What were the brightest stars in this group for this period? Top on the list was Columbus, home of Ohio State University and the state's capital. Its second quarter apartment absorption made up more than 3,000% of its market's annual apartment demand volume. More than 1,400 units were absorbed in that quarter, its largest quarterly demand volume since the same period back in 2019, before the pandemic caused a reset of where people lived, where developers went and what they charged. The city is also posting strong rent growth when counterparts elsewhere are pulling back.