Weak Demand Drives Softness in Greensboro Apartment Market

Greensboro has one of the steadiest construction pipelines in the country, which makes six straight quarters of falling rents all the more telling about demand. Greensboro rents eased by 0.8% year-over-year in 3rd quarter, marking six straight quarters of mild decline, according to data from Realpage Market Analtyics. The components of growth also don't look too much different. Class A's expansion (1.2%) during the year far exceeded that of Class B (-1.0%) and Class C (-2.6%). Those elements haven’t changed much in six quarters either. While it's hard to say construction here has been all that robust, perhaps one peculiar component of local construction is that there hasn't been a 2020s cycle peak, per se. At the "peak", 3,800 units were underway in metro Greensboro, just slightly exceeding the 2010s cycle "peak" of 3,600 units. And even today, about 2,900 units are underway. So, it's about as steady of a pipeline as you'll find in the country. Despite relatively little supply though, the fact that Greensboro's rents have fallen year-over-year for now six straight quarters indicates this isn't a market with resounding demand depth either. While it's a few states away from the typical Rust Belt/Midwest profile, it's about as Midwest/Rust Belt in economic nature as you'll find in the southern U.S.