RealPage: Apartment Occupancy by Type Returning to Pre-Pandemic Norms

(Image courtesy of RealPage)

RealPage, Richardson, Texas, reported occupancy among unit types is rebounding to pre-COVID patterns. Specifically, three-bedroom unit occupancy–which hit record highs in 2021 and 2022–is softening.

Occupancy is currently tightest in one- and two-bedroom units as of January. That’s in line with the national norm, per data from RealPage Market Analytics.

Three-bedroom units and efficiencies are 70 basis points below the national norm–consistent with pre-pandemic rates.

In general, occupancy hit a 10-year low in January, at just 94.1%.

One-bedroom units were right on that line, also at 94.1%. Two-bedroom units had 94.2% occupancy.

Three-bedroom units sit at 93.4% occupancy. Efficiency-style units were at 93.3%.

Overall, three-bedroom and efficiency units make up a small portion of the overall apartment stock.

Three-bedroom units were more popular during the pandemic, as more people worked from home and required dedicated or private office space.

The overall apartment market saw a demand boom in 2021 and 2022, but three-bedroom units saw the biggest, with a 270-basis-point jump from February 2020, immediately before the pandemic.

Household formation also surged in mid-2020–the number of U.S. households has increased 6% since February 2020.