Apartment occupancy nationwide is as high as it's been in nearly 20 years, with more than 96% of all apartments filled in the 150 largest apartment markets in the country.
Overall, all four regions of the country saw a rise in apartment occupancy in August, according to a study from RealPage.
The Northeast saw 97.1% occupancy; 96.6% in the West; 96.5% in the Midwest and 95.7% in the South.
Of the largest markets in the U.S., eight of them saw a weaker occupancy rate in August than in July, while only three had occupancy below 95%. Conversely, nine of the big markets saw greater than 97% occupancy in August.
Here, from RealPage's report, are the markets where the most apartments are filled:
1. New York-White Plains, New York, 97.9% occupancy
2. (tie) Newark-Jersey City, New Jersey-Pennsylvania, 97.5% occupancy
2. (tie) Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, Michigan, 97.5% occupancy
4. (tie) Providence-Warwick, Rhode Island-Massachusetts, 97.3% occupancy
4. (tie) Boston-Cambridge-Newton, Massachusetts-New Hampshire, 97.3% occupancy
6. (tie) Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, Wisconsin, 97.2% occupancy
6. (tie) Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, Minnesota-Wisconsin, 97.2% occupancy
8. (tie) Sacramento-Roseville-Arden-Arcade, California, 97.1% occupancy
8. (tie) Cincinnati, Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana, 97.1% occupancy
10. (tie) Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, Virginia-North Carolina, 96.9% occupancy
10. (tie) Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Delaware-Maryland, 96.9% occupancy
Meanwhile, RealPage's report also showed that August was the 12th consecutive month that annual rent growth was at or above 3%, which hasn’t happened since 2016.
But there were some markets where rent growth in August was well beyond the national average.
Here are the rent growth leaders for August:
1. Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, Arizona, 8.2% rent growth
2. Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, Nevada, 7.5% rent growth
3. Raleigh.Durham, North Carolina, 5.4% rent growth
4. Greensboro/Winston-Salem, North Carolina, 5.2% rent growth
5. (tie) Austin-Round Rock, Texas, 4.6% rent growth
5. (tie) Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, North Carolina-South Carolina, 4.6% rent growth
5. (tie) Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, California, 4.6% rent growth
8. Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin, Tennessee, 4.5% rent growth
9. Sacramento-Roseville-Arden-Arcade, California, 4.4% rent growth
10. Memphis, Tennessee-Mississippi-Arkansas, 4.1% rent growth
