While 2024 may have peaked, 2025 looks more positive as multifamily indicators in May were mostly flat, writes Chris Nebenzahl in his weekly rent and operating trends report for Radix.
“Traffic and leasing have remained unchanged for the past few weeks, and I believe we have seen the peak for both leading indicators this year at the national level. Rent growth and occupancy continue to improve as they dig out from the now two-year slumps,” Nebenzahl says.
Some highlights of his multifamily indicators report:
- For the third consecutive week, traffic and leasing have remained unchanged at 8.2 and 2.7, respectively. The 33% conversion ratio is in line with historical standards, but the overall number of tours and leases signed remains lower than normal.
- Nationwide occupancy increased two basis points to 93.97%. In the current era of hyper-supply, a national occupancy rate of 94% indicates robust continued demand for housing.
- A strong indication of demand in light of supply is the average number of units available to rent per property. The national average ATR (Ability to repay) of 13 marks a 30% improvement from a year ago.
- Net effective rents ticked up 10 basis points nationwide last week, bringing the average NER to $1,820.
- Not only was Wilmington, N.C. among the leaders in occupancy growth, but it led the nation with rents rising 80 basis points last week alone.
- Revenue per available unit had a strong week, led by Wilmington, N.C., to no surprise. Perhaps more impressive than any one market is the fact that 31 of the 45 metros tracked by Radix Research registered revenue per available unit growth last week, and 18 of the 45 metros have seen that same growth on an annual basis.
“Our most recent forecast predicts revenue growth to return to positive territory nationwide in the second half of next year, another indicator that owners and operators who are able to survive until 2025 will begin to see steady improvements in the intermediate term,” Nebenzahl says in the report.
Chris Nebenzahl is director of economic research at Radix, where he oversees macroeconomic and multifamily market analysis. Chris has 15 years of multifamily experience in data analytics, research, asset management and acquisitions. Prior to his time in the multifamily industry Chris was a portfolio manager at Bank of New York, focusing on government and commercial fixed income sectors.
