When a once-in-a-generation supply wave meets strong demand amid mixed economic signs, it makes for a challenging multifamily environment. Our RealPage Analytics blog – powered by data from RealPage Market Analytics and other sources such as the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Census Bureau and MSCI/Real Capital Analytics – helped make sense of it all with some facts, figures and analysis from our team of economists, analysts and writers. Here are the most-read stories on the RealPage Analytics blog in 2024.
Readers were hungry for information explaining the 50-year high in multifamily deliveries. In January 2024, we said the U.S. expected about 670,000 units in calendar 2024. Due to supply delays, that number appeared to be shaping up to more like 600,000 units as of December, but the storyline remains: apartment supply was prolific in 2024.
Some 390,000 apartment units were absorbed across the U.S. in the year-ending 2nd quarter 2024, the eighth-largest figure on record. Still, that ultra-strong rate fell below concurrent new supply, though the delta between the two continued to close. Demand persisted in 3rd quarter as an additional 193,000 units were absorbed in the July to September time frame.
Our annual analysis of which markets have the most Fortune 500 headquarters shifts a bit from year to year. In 2024, New York again reigned as the city with the most Fortune 500 headquarters at 47, followed by Chicago (30) and Houston (23).
Our 2nd quarter 2024 forecast, as articulated by our Director of Forecasting Arben Skivjani, indicated that apartment rent growth would tick up in late 2024 and into 2025 as supply subsided somewhat.
In early 2024, our team of economists picked a few standout markets based on a handful of profiles, including markets with strong demand but where high supply would cap rent growth (Austin, Charlotte) and some early favorites to lead performance (Chicago, Cincinnati).
After seeing about 6,100 new units deliver in 2023, Seattle was expected to get about triple that amount in calendar 2024. All 16 of Seattle’s submarkets were expected to gain some level of new supply in 2024, led by massive deliveries in the urban core submarkets of Downtown Seattle and Capitol Hill/Central District.
As of mid-year, Madison, WI was one of the nation’s top performing apartment markets, posting tight occupancy and double-digit rent growth.
After a year of high supply nationwide and in most of the nation’s largest markets, several places are expected to see considerably fewer deliveries in 2025. About 10 major markets will see considerable decreases in apartment supply in 2025, led by Houston.
Many of the nation’s largest apartment markets posted their highest demand tallies on record – on an annual and/or quarterly basis – in 3rd quarter 2024, including many such as Phoenix, Charlotte, Raleigh/Durham and Nashville.
As the industry looked more heavily at built-to-rent (BTR) homes as legitimate rental options, data surrounding this property type became even more relevant. RealPage Market Analytics data indicated there were nearly 120,000 BTR units underway across the nation as of May, with the most being built in Phoenix. (That number had fallen to more like 90,000 units as of November.)
