Many apartment trends point to the South so it’s little surprise, according to RealPage, that region and the Midwest feature the most affordable major apartment markets in the country.
Of the nation’s 50 largest markets, six of the most affordable were in the Midwest and four were in the South, including the top three, according to RealPage’s researcher Charlotte Wheeler.
Greensboro/Winston-Salem is considered the most affordable, with average effective asking rents of $1,209 in November, according to RealPage Market Analytics. That’s about $600 a month less than the national average ($1,805).
Memphis ($1,222) and San Antonio ($1,241) were also under the $1,250 mark.
“Despite their relative affordability, those three South region markets ranked among the nation’s 10 weakest occupancy performances, with the lowest reading of 91.2% in San Antonio,” Wheeler writes.
It is followed by Memphis (#2 at 92.1%) and Greensboro/Winston-Salem (#8 at 92.6%),” Wheeler writes.
A sizeable number of affordable rents can be found in the Midwest, ranging from $1,257 in Cleveland to $1,310 in Columbus. Indy ($1,258), Detroit ($1,285), St. Louis ($1,289), and Kansas City ($1,298).
Rounding out the nation’s 10 most affordable large markets was Houston, with average monthly rents at $1,353 in November.
New York continues to have the highest monthly asking rents by far, coming in at $4,501 and the tightest occupancy rate of 97%.