U.S. multifamily rents increased by $4 in March to $1,430, according to a new report from Yardi® Matrix .
Rents increased 3.2% year-over-year in March, a 20 basis-point decline from February. Despite the modest slowdown, rent growth remained healthy across most markets.
Las Vegas (7.5%) and Phoenix (7.2%) continued to hold the top two places in Yardi Matrix rankings. Among the top 30 metros, Atlanta and the Inland Empire (both 4.8%) were the next-fastest-growing metros.
Nationally, rents were up 0.4% in the first quarter. The numbers demonstrated consistent growth, although not as strong as other first quarters in recent years.”For example, rents grew by at least 0.8% in the first quarter between 2014 and 2016. Still, the market’s consistency remains a point in its favor,” the report says.
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”Despite the large gap at the top of Yardi® Matrix rankings, all of the top 30 markets are performing well.In fact, 25 of them had rent growth of 2.5% or greater in March, and none of the top 30 saw rents decline. Portland (2.0%) ranked near the bottom, and is a market to monitor as the effects of recent rent control legislation are realized.”
Rents increased 0.1% in March on a T-3 basis, as short-term rent increases continued to signal a strong spring rental season.
Raleigh led with 0.4% growth, followed by a geographic mix including Phoenix, the Twin Cities, Kansas City and Las Vegas (all 0.3%).
”February’s weak job growth number and decelerating GDP growth are signs that the expansion is slowing.In response to those and other developments, the Federal Reserve said it would only hike policy rates once in 2019 and not at all in 2020. Treasury rates dropped sharply as investors worry about weaker growth. While slower growth is not good for the multifamily market, tenant demand is likely to remain robust and investor demand shows no signs of weakening,” says the report.
Source: YardiMatrix
