Yardi Matrix: Multifamily Rents Little Changed in August

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Yardi Matrix, Santa Barbara, Calif., reported multifamily rents changed little in August, pointing to seasonality and rising uncertainty about consumers’ financial health.

On average, advertised rent fell $1 to $1,755, and year-over-year growth fell 10 basis points to 0.7%. Yardi Matrix anticipates rent growth will remain similarly lackluster through the rest of this year.

In general, rents have settled into a slow-growth pattern over the past few years, with most increases seen in the spring.

Rent growth was strongest in the Midwest and Northeast, led by areas like Chicago (up 4.6%), Columbus, Ohio (up 3.3%) and the Twin Cities (up 3.2%). But, it fell in some Sun Belt and Mountain West metros, including Austin, Texas, (down 4.5%), Denver (down 3.8%) and Phoenix (down 2.8%).

Both lifestyle and renter-by-necessity rents fell 0.1% in the month.

The national occupancy rate is at 94.7%, flat year-over-year.  

Advertised rates for single-family build-to-rent units were close to flat in August, at $2,208. That’s up 0.6% year-over-year. Single-family rental occupancy rates were at 95%–strong, but down 0.2% year-over-year, Yardi Matrix noted. Occupancy was 95.9% in renter-by-necessity and 94.9% in lifestyle.

One quirk in the single-family rental market is the rise of “accidental landlords”–which the report defined as homeowners who are choosing to rent rather than sell among a tough market. That may be putting some pressure on rent prices in the sector.