Multifamily market stays strong

Average multifamily rents in the United States rose $2 last month, a 3.1 percent increase compared with August 2017, according to data released this week.

The average multifamily rent in August was $1,412, the seventh consecutive month that figure has hit a record high, Santa Barbara-based Yardi Matrix reported.

Nationwide, the multifamily sector is undergoing rising occupancy rates and strong supply growth, and that trend is expected to continue. An estimated 300,000 units are expected to be added this year, the third consecutive year the market will reach that mark if that prediction is accurate.

In the Inland Empire,  multifamily rents were up 5.4 percent last month. That was the third-largest increase of any major U.S. submarket behind Orlando at 6.7 percent and Las Vegas at 5.7 percent.

Much of the rent growth last month happened in secondary markets in the south and west, but overall gains were distributed all over. Twenty one of the 30 markets studied experienced year-over-year rent growth of more than 1.5 percent, according to Yardi Matrix.