U.S. Marks Largest Volume of Quarterly Apartment Supply in History

The U.S. apartment market just delivered the biggest volume of new supply its ever seen in a single quarter. Completions volumes broke past the 100,000-unit mark in 2nd quarter 2023 for the first time since RealPage Market Analytics began tracking the market in the early 1990s. Since then, delivery volumes have increased nearly every quarter. In the first three months of 2024, roughly 135,600 units wrapped up construction, the biggest quarterly volume the U.S. has ever received. More than that, this volume nearly doubled the 10-year average of about 82,600 units. And this decade has been a significant one for apartment construction activity. In the decade before this one (2004-2014), quarterly completions averaged just 36,200 units. In 1st quarter 2024, the biggest block of new apartments came online in the South region of the U.S., with over 79,200 units completed. The West received about 29,200 units. In both, the 1st quarter completion volume is the biggest the region has seen ever. Meanwhile, more mild deliveries were seen in the Midwest (15,800 units) and Northeast (11,400 units). In both of those latter regions, 1st quarter completions are a tick below the record-high showings from 2023’s 4th quarter.