Due to the rising cost of debt and the cloudy economy, U.S. apartment investments leveled off in this year's second quarter, and sales fell below pre-pandemic levels, according to RealPage. The overall sales volume was down 72% year-over-year as almost 1,260 apartment properties were sold, valued altogether at $28.2 billion in this time frame, according to MSCI Real Capital Analytics. 

In contrast, 5,300 properties changed hands for a total value of $165 billion in the fourth quarter of 2021, in part due to pent-up demand after the pandemic emerged. The recent sales activity is also below the $42 billion quarterly average during the five years between 2015 and 2019, the years leading up to the pandemic.

The average price per unit also fell, hitting $196,672 in the year's second quarter, which was down 19% YoY and the lowest in two years. At the same time, per-unit pricing in that five-year time period averaged $151,000. And cap rates for apartment transactions in 2023's second quarter were up 70 basis points YoY or an average of 5.3%, the highest cap rate in almost four years.