Phoenix, Las Vegas Still Lead for Annual Rent Growth

Among the country’s 50 largest apartment markets, Phoenix and Las Vegas remain the clear leaders for rent growth in 1st quarter 2019. The two Southwest markets recorded annual increases around 8% in the quarter, well ahead of all other large markets. At the next tier of performance, rent growth reached 5% or a little better in Atlanta, Greensboro/Winston-Salem, Memphis and Sacramento. Rounding out the top 10 rent performers in the quarter, Riverside/San Bernardino, Austin, Jacksonville and Tampa Bay all posted annual rent growth of more than 4%. Fourteen other large markets posted rent growth above the national average of 3.2%. At the opposite end of the performance spectrum, Houston recorded the nation’s weakest performance among big markets, with same-store rents in 1st quarter 2019 essentially matching prices a year earlier. Four other top 50 markets recorded rent increases of less than 2% over the past year: Cleveland, Kansas City, Anaheim and St. Louis.