SIGNS OF LIFE FOR MULTIFAMILY DEMAND
By Jordan Brooks , Senior Market Analyst , ALN Apartment Data
Greater San Antonio multifamily has been through a prolonged period of relatively low apartment demand paired with elevated new supply over the last couple of years . At the national level , apartment demand from December through February improved slightly from the same period a year ago . For Greater San Antonio , the improvement has been more noteworthy .
All numbers will refer to conventional properties of at least 50 units
A P R I L E D I T I O N
JORDAN BROOKS
Recent Improvement
At the time of this writing , the last three complete months of data include the December through February period . This portion of the calendar tends to be comfortably within the softer time of year for multifamily demand before the springtime improvement that usually leads to a summer peak .
Net absorption of approximately 700 units across Greater San Antonio in this three-month period was the highest total since the same period ending in February of 2021 . At that time , the demand dip that occurred in the first half of 2020 was already in the rearview mirror and net absorption was unusually high for that part of the year . In fact , not since the opening months of 2016 had demand been higher than in 2021 for this period . This year ’ s total trailed the 2021 total by less than 50 units .
Not only has net absorption in the last three months been the highest for the San Antonio market in the period since 2021 , and the second highest of the last eight years , but demand in the area has also outpaced other primary markets in the state such as Dallas – Fort Worth and Houston .
Not only has net absorption in the last three months been the highest for the San Antonio market in the period since 2021 , and the second highest of the last eight years , but demand in the area has also outpaced other primary markets in the state such as Dallas – Fort Worth and Houston . This outperformance occurred not only on a market size-adjusted basis , but also in terms of net units absorbed outright .
Continued and sustained improvement in demand will be vital for San Antonio multifamily performance this year with 2024 set to be another active year for deliveries . Despite the positive trend for net absorption in recent months , new supply exceeded net absorbed units by a margin of just over 1,000 units from December through February .
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