MARKET UPDATE ONE-BEDROOM UNITS LEAD THE WAY IN RECENT RENT GROWTH
by Jordan Brooks
Market Analyst | ALN Apartment Data , Inc .
As the multifamily industry begins to fall back into seasonal norms after a historic run in 2021 for both demand and rent growth , it is especially important to be mindful of performance trends and metrics below the surface market-level numbers . With that in mind , using conventional properties of at least 50 units , let ’ s take a look at how rents have performed across Greater San Antonio for different unit types over the most recent six months as of this writing – June 2021 through November 2021 .
At the end of November , only about 17 % of efficiency units were offering a discount for new leases compared to a little more than one-third of these units in both November of 2020 and November of 2019 . After approaching nearly four weeks off an annual lease as recently six months ago , the average concession value has also declined considerably in recent months . The average discount closed November at just under 2.5 weeks off a 12-month lease , a decline of approximately 35 % since the start of June .
EFFICIENCY UNITS ONE-BEDROOM AND TWO-BEDROOM UNITS
Average effective rent rose for efficiency units in the period by 10 %, closing November at $ 872 per unit per month . Unsurprisingly , rent growth to that extent far and away surpassed anything from recent years during the same portion of the calendar for Greater San Antonio . For context , in each of the previous two years , average effective rent growth for efficiency units in the period was only around 1 %. One major component in rent growth has been the retreat of lease concessions .
One-bedroom units realized an average effective rent gain of a little more than 11 % during the six-month period – the most of any unit type in the period . As with the efficiency units , this level of growth was barely even and comparable to the 1 % gain from the same portion of 2020 or the 0.1 % increase in the period from 2019 . The average one-bedroom unit ended November leasing for $ 1,040 per month , up from about $ 930 to start June . Lease concession availability for these units was also low relative to recent history after steady declines throughout the year . Over the last six months , discount availability has fallen by more than 50 % to just 16 % of one-bedroom units offering a concession package for new leases . The average discount value closed the month at two weeks off an annual lease – a decline of almost 40 % since June .
Two-bedroom units were just behind the one-bedrooms in terms of average effective rent growth over