Rents and Occupancy Falling Fast in the Mountains/Desert Region

Apartment markets in the Mountains/Desert Region of the U.S. tend to operate in a boom/bust profile, seeing significant growth in good times, and significant declines in bad times. As of 2nd quarter, this region is logging the nation’s deepest performance decline. In the U.S. overall, annual occupancy decline of 210 basis points (bps) and annual rent growth of 2.4% leaves the national performance lackluster. In the Mountains/Desert region, occupancy decline was similar at 240 bps, but that downturn was coupled with rent cuts, which came down by 0.7% year-over-year. While all regions of the country suffered occupancy retrench in the past year, the Mountains/Desert region was the only locale to see rent declines as well. In Texas and the Carolinas, the annual occupancy adjustment was significant, but rent growth in those areas held up the overall performance. On the other hand, the slow-and-steady Midwest as well as the East Coast markets are seeing rent growth accelerate much faster than other regions across the U.S.

For more information on the state of the Mountains/Desert region apartment market, including forecasts, watch the webcast Market Intelligence: Q3 Mountains/Desert Region Update.