Several tailwinds have propelled seven US apartment markets to record demand performances year-over-year during the third quarter. Those markets were Phoenix, Charlotte, Raleigh/Durham, Nashville, Jacksonville, Las Vegas and Salt Lake City, according to RealPage Market Analytics data.
Demand in Phoenix reached 21,563 units during the quarter, while Charlotte logged demand of 13,066 units and Raleigh/Durham saw demand for 12,715 units. Nashville logged for 11,408 units, followed by Jacksonville with 8,105, Las Vegas with 7,681 and Salt Lake City with 7,271.
The top seven markets all have favorable demographics to support housing demand, with populations growing at rates at least double and in some cases triple the national norm since 2017, according to US Census Bureau figures. Raleigh, Nashville and Jacksonville have all grown by more than 10% between 2017 and 2022. That compares with nationwide population growth over the same period of 3.1%, said RealPage.
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In addition, job growth trends are higher and unemployment trends are lower than the national averages in these seven markets, and an apartment boom in all but Las Vegas helped the markets grow total apartment inventory above the national average of 2.8%, according to the report. Among the top 50 markets, those that grew apartment inventory most in the last year were Austin (8.9%), Raleigh (7.8%), Nashville and Jacksonville (both 7%), Salt Lake City (6.5%) and Phoenix (5.6%).
Altogether, the U.S. apartment market absorbed 488,773 units during the quarter in large part due to 192,649 units of demand. Markets with the highest demand for the third quarter were Austin, Denver, Charlotte, Raleigh/Durham and Jacksonville. Both Austin and Denver posted annual demand roughly 200 units short of their respective record highs in the year ended Q3 2024.
All of these markets should experience continued strong apartment demand thanks to heavy supply in the coming year, said RealPage.
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Kristen Smithberg
Kristen Smithberg is a Colorado-based freelance writer who covers commercial real estate, insurance, benefits and retirement topics for BenefitsPRO and other industry publications.
