May apartment occupancy hit 95.3% this year, according to a new Axiometrics report.
The Dallas-based research firm notes this increase is 12 basis points above April’s occupancy and a 28 basis point increase compared to last May. It’s also the highest occupancy has been since August 2014, when the number was recorded at 95.2%.
However, national annual effective rent growth was down month-over-month at 5%, compared to April’s 5.1%. Still, the metric is a big improvement on the 3.6% rent growth recorded in May 2014, and marks the fourth straight month where the figure is above 5%.
Oakland, Calif. topped the list of markets with the largest annual rent growth in May for the top 50 apartment markets, with a whopping 14.3% rent growth. In fact, the West once again dominated the rankings, with Atlanta as the only Eastern market cracking the Top 10, clocking in ninth with 7% annual rent growth.
Here are the Top 10 metros for rent growth in May:
1. Oakland, Calif., 14.3%
2. Portland, Ore., 12.2%
3. Denver, Colo., 11%
4. Sacramento, Calif., 10.7%
5. San Jose, Calif., 9.9%
6. San Francisco, Calif., 9.1%
7. Riverside, Calif., 8.2%
8. Seattle, Wash., 7.3%
9. Atlanta, Ga., 7%
10. Las Vegas, Nev., 6.6%
