Carolinas Apartment Demand Punches Above its Weight

Apartment demand in North Carolina and South Carolina ranks as the strongest in the nation, indexed by relativity. The Carolinas garnered apartment demand for 2.5 times more than the share of existing local stock in calendar 2023, topping every other region for the measure. Apartment markets in the Carolinas absorbed nearly 25,000 units on net in calendar 2023. That accounted for about 10% of all U.S. absorption. But the Carolinas make up a relatively small piece of existing units across U.S. multifamily stock, with just a 4.2% share. Given the size of existing stock across the North and South Carolina, indexed absorption was especially high here in 2023. Indexed demand was also significant in the Mountains/Desert region and in Texas, Florida and Southeast markets last year. While total absorption volumes were quite a bit higher in those regions, the share of existing stock in those areas is also significantly bigger. In comparison, the Lower Midwest region has about the same share of existing stock as the Carolinas, but total demand in the Lower Midwest was much smaller, translating to a much milder indexed pace.

For more information on the state of apartment markets in the Carolinas, including forecasts, watch the webcast Market Intelligence: Q1 Carolinas Update.