Apartment rental prices edged higher in the third quarter of the year, but deals for renters still abound in major metro areas across the U.S. as landlords brace for more supply in the months ahead.
As The Wall Street Journal reports, apartment rents rose 2.9% in the third quarter from a year earlier, up from 2.5% annual rent growth in the second quarter, according to real estate analytics firm RealPage Inc. A strong economy with better wage growth helped boost demand for apartments. So did a weak home-sales market, as tight supply may have prompted more renters to put off buying.
The news is much different locally. Baton Rouge rental rates have been flat since 2015, and some reports show rate declines. The primary reason: Apartments are going up, appraiser Wesley Moore said in August, faster than demand.
The national rental market has still slowed significantly from a few years ago, when rents grew by 5.2% in the third quarter of 2015. Greg Willett, chief economist at RealPage, says that “an upward blip rather than a downward blip” shows that at least the slowdown isn’t accelerating.
The share of occupied apartments during the third quarter rose to 95.8% in the third quarter from 95.4% in the second quarter, according to RealPage.
Economists had expected the third quarter, which is typically weaker than the busy spring leasing season, to be even weaker than the second quarter.
