Rent and Operating Trends – Week of November 19th 2023

Key Takeaways – Data as of 11/19/2023

Traffic and Leases:

• Traffic nationwide remained unchanged last week, while new leases signed dipped.  
• Gateway markets registered some of the largest gains last week, as New York added more than a half tour per property, while Chicago led all markets in weekly leasing gains.  
• While Dallas and Houston no longer lead the nation in traffic, they remain on top of the rankings for new leases signed. Both Texas metros averaged 2.9 new leases signed per property last week. 

Occupancy and ATR:

• The elevated leasing activity has had a positive impact on Chciago’s occupancy rate. Last week, occupancy in the Windy City increased 12 basis points. Las Vegas also had a strong week, gaining 11 basis points of occupancy. Despite having one of the lowest occupancy rates in the nation, Las Vegas appears to have found some stability. Annual occupancy is down only 30 basis points over the past year, a much smaller decline compared to other sunbelt markets in the southeast and southwest. 
• ATR increased slightly last week, but there remains roughly 15 units available to rent per property nationwide. 

Net Effective Rent:

• Net effective rents fell another 20 basis points last week. As another sign that seasonality has returned to the multifamily industry, net effective rent declines have continued on a weekly basis, yet annual declines have leveled off. This aligns with the typical trend of weekly softening in the fall and winter months. 
• Albuquerque, one of the strongest performing markets this year, saw the largest decline in rents last week. Charlotte, Jacksonville and Atlanta also had poor weeks, with rents falling at least 40 basis points in each market. 
• Colorado Springs led all markets in rent growth last week, picking up 30 basis points.