Rent Cuts Most Extreme in Mountains/Desert Region Markets

While moderation in apartment market performance was seen nationwide in 4th quarter, the decline was most pronounced in the Mountains/Desert region markets. Across the region, effective asking rents contracted 2% during the quarter, the deepest decline seen among any other region nationwide. That’s not a terrible result when looking at historical perspective, as this region does typically see rent setbacks in 4th quarter. In fact, in late 2021, the decline dipped to 3%. But when looking at the rest of the U.S., quarterly rent cuts in the Mountains/Desert region were more severe than cutbacks of closer to 1% in the Carolinas, West Coast, Southeast and Texas. Rents eased mildly in the remainder of the regions, clocking in at 0.4% in the Great Lakes, 0.2% in the East Coast and just 0.1% across the Plains/Heartlands region.