Rents Are Slowing Seasonally But Rising Sharply Year-Over-Year

Rental demand soared to its highest reported level in three decades with a net total of over 670,000 units absorbed, according to the CalculatedRisk Newsletter. Strong demand increased apartment occupancy by 2.1 basis points to 97.5% year-over-year, but record-low vacancy limited the number of available rental units.

National median rent dropped 0.2 percent for the month of December, likely due to market seasonality, but 2021 recorded record-setting growth with a 17.8 percent price increase compared to an average of just 2.3 percent annual rent growth pre-pandemic.

From ApartmentList.com: Apartment List National Rent Report

Our national index fell by 0.2 percent during the month of December, marking the only time in 2021 when rents declined month-over-month. A slight dip in rents at this time of year is typical of seasonality in the market, but it’s especially notable after a year of record-setting growth. Over the course of calendar year 2021, the national median rent increased by a staggering 17.8 percent. To put that in context, annual rent growth averaged just 2.3 percent in the pre-pandemic years from 2017-2019.

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