Who had Detroit atop their bingo card for the market leading the country in rent growth? We'd have to tap deep into the history books. Prior to this quarter, Detroit hadn't ranked atop the leaderboard in AT LEAST 25 years -- and likely much longer.
But that's what happens when you have even modest demand in a market that's likely building fewer apartments than its losing to obsolescence.
A quick look at the remaining markets (among the 50 largest metro areas) in the Top 15 for new lease rent growth (inclusive of concessions):
Once again, it's all about the steady eddy, low-supplied Midwest (plus some Mid-Atlantic and Northeast), headlined by Kansas City, Chicago, Columbus, Milwaukee, Pittsburgh (honorary Midwest market), Cincinnati, Indianapolis and Minneapolis/St. Paul.
Only two West Coast markets, and it's a pair we haven't seen on these lists in a while until recently: San Jose and San Francisco, slowly rediscovering its footing and boosted by tech companies' return-to-work mandates plus minimal supply relative to West Coast peers.
Two Virginia markets make the list: Richmond and Virginia Beach, both steady markets. Just north of them, Washington DC remains a top performer among large markets nationally.
Two that have dropped off the leaderboard lately (though just barely): Boston and New York. (Of course, NYC is the wild west of apartment data, so rents there just depends on who you ask and what they're tracking).
BTW, Austin continues to pull up the rear on the rent growth leaderboard, with new lease rents down 7.3% year-over-year.
