U.S. apartment rents have increased for the third-straight month, according to Yardi Matrix’s monthly survey of 119 markets. June rent rates increased by exactly $10, or 0.9 percent, to another all-time high of $1,213.
Rents were up 2.7 percent in the second quarter of 2016 and climbed 5.6 percent on an annual basis. Year-to-date rents increased 4.2 percent, which is almost to the tipping point of the forecasted total 2016 growth.
Although home prices increased pretty consistently, rental growth has slowed. Annually, rent growth dipped 30 basis points and is down 110 basis points from the most recent high reported in October. Prices have steadily risen since the start of the year.
Yardi studied the Brexit in its June report as well, but the company doesn’t believe the overseas shift will have much of an impact on the apartment market in the U.S.
On an eight-year average, rent growth was reported by Yardi at 2.8 percent. The only market of the 119 studied that saw annual rents hit a mark below that rate was Houston, where rental growth has slowed substaintially. Compared with the national annual growth of 5.6 percent, Austin and Philadelphia were the two cities closest to the average.
Sacramento came in with the highest year-over-year growth, followed by Seattle, Portland and Los Angeles.
On a trailing 12-month basis in June, rents grew by 6.2 percent nationally. Rents fell by 10 basis points overall, which was largely due to a dip in lifestyle renters from 5.9 percent to 5.8 percent.
Los Angeles rent growth
Los Angeles has one of the highest rent growth rate forecasts for the end of the year. According to Yardi’s report, L.A. rent growth will be 7.1 percent by the end of the year, putting the City of Angels in the sixth spot for rent growth forecast.
The occupancy rate is also strong in L.A., inching up to 97.1 percent in May 2016 over 97 percent the month prior. Just 1 percent of the total stock in June 2016 was considered completions.
Job growth is slightly slow in L.A., especially when comparing it to other California cities. The metro saw a job growth rate of 2.3 percent year-over-year in April 2016. Renter by necessity growth has surpassed the 8 percent mark and lifestyle renter growth remained about the same.
