The most drastic change to multifamily performance this year has been to the metric of net absorption. Net absorption refers to the net change in the number of rented units in a period of time and approximates apartment demand. Through the first eight months of 2020, apartment demand was only 64% of that from the same period in 2019. However, in the last three months, apartment demand has outpaced that from the same time last year by 3%.

In this space today, we will take a closer look at net absorption at the individual market level for June through August from three different perspectives: the five markets that most outpaced last year’s net absorption for the period, the five markets with the highest net absorption totals and the five markets with the strongest net absorption relative to the size of their multifamily presence.

Top 5 Markets – Outpaced 2019 Demand

1. Detroit, MI (+3,162 units)
2. Philadelphia, PA (+1,902 units)
3. Louis, MO (+1,881 units)
4. Houston, TX (+1,832 units)
5. San Bernardino – Riverside, CA (+1,803 units)

Top 5 Markets – Net Absorbed Units

1. Dallas – Fort Worth (10,624 units)
2. Houston, TX (5,863 units)
3. Atlanta, GA (5,559 units)
4. Denver – Colorado Springs (5,301 units)
5. Philadelphia, PA (3,793 units)

Top 5 Markets – Net Absorption as Percent of Market Capacity

1. Augusta – Portland, ME (330 units, 4.9%)
2. Asheville, NC (664 units, 4.69%)
3. Monroe, LA (269 units, 4.66%)
4. South Bend, IN (885 units, 3.72%)
5. Myrtle Beach, SC (361 units, 3.71%)

For more information at the market level, ALN provides complimentary monthly and quarterly Market Review reports.