Metros Where New Rental Construction Is Thriving

A new report from RentCafe found that despite the pandemic, the number of newly constructed rental units has kept pace with years prior. For the fifth consecutive year, the number of new apartments exceeded 330,000 and dropped 2.5% from 2020 levels. The metros posting the highest expected rental unit openings this year range from Seattle to Dallas, but Charlotte, NC posted the highest one-year change in rentals added, up 10,723 units for a 100% increase. Read more to see the full list in The New York Times.

New development in the Dallas metro area has been on the upswing in recent years, and that area landed at the top of the list, with 21,173 new rental units expected to open this year (although the number represents a 13 percent decrease compared to 2020). The New York metro area was second, with 19,375 units set to open, an 11 percent gain over the previous year. (It should be noted that the New York figures do not include building data from the Bronx and Staten Island.)

In third place was booming Phoenix, with 15,846 new units projected, a year-over-year gain of 76 percent. The greatest yearly increase among the top 20 was Charlotte, N.C., in 10th place for the total number of units; Charlotte is expected to gain 10,723 units in 2021, a 100 percent increase over 2020.

Only six metro areas, including the aforementioned Dallas, are expected to see fewer new apartments than they did in 2020. Denver’s new unit count dropped the most over the previous year among the top 20 metros, down 46 percent, with 5,581 units expected to open.

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