The Nation’s Most Aggressive Apartment Construction Market

The most aggressive apartment building activity occurring in the nation is taking place in Huntsville, AL. As of 2nd quarter, there were 5,078 units under construction in Huntsville. Those units will grow the market’s existing stock by a stunning 15.6%, well above the national average expansion pace of 3.4%. Big construction volumes are not new for Huntsville, where the existing unit base swelled by 22.3% in the past 10 years. Near term deliveries will test absorption capacity in Huntsville, but the apartment market here has performed well in the past few years, and fundamentals have gotten even better than the norm recently. As of June, occupancy in Huntsville stood at a tight 96.8% and annual growth in effective asking rents topped a sizable 11%. Such strength has caused developers to take notice. The key to Huntsville’s apartment market resilience is the local economy, where the aerospace and government sectors play a huge role in the local employment base.