Chart Of The Week – July 31st 2023

Occupancy rates across the nation have been falling steadily for nearly two years after peaking in the fall of 2021. Some of the hardest hit markets include popular sunbelt markets with significant new development. Las Vegas, Atlanta, Phoenix and Salt Lake City have all seen their apartment fundamentals deteriorate in recent months, most notably occupancy and net effective rent. However, there may be a silver lining in the leased percentage data for these markets. The largest variance between leased percentage and occupancy is in Las Vegas, where the leased percentage is more than two percentage points higher than the market occupancy rate. This indicates that while occupancy is low, demand remains elevated, and units have been leasing. This should be a positive sign for the market in the coming months, and occupancy should begin to level out or grow. Similar trends can be seen in many sunbelt and southwestern markets.