Renters may come and renters may go, but in six markets in the U.S. they tended to stay rather than go during the topsy-turvy period of 2022 to 2023. In these markets, apartment demand overall stayed positive even in 3Q 2022, when renters nationwide moved out of 90,000 units – the sharpest drop in the period.

According to data from RealPage Analytics, almost every one of the 150 largest apartment markets in the U.S. endured at least one quarter when move-outs exceeded move-ins between 2Q 2022 and 1Q 2023. The six markets that broke the mold were dissimilar and spanned the country from coast to coast with several locations in the middle. "They far outperformed the rest of the nation when considering any demand at all a metric for success," the report noted.

Charleston's success can be attributed to the rapid growth of its workforce, which increased 5.9% in the year ending November 2023 to lead the nation. The metro also benefited from years of high apartment construction rates.