CHECKING IN on the New Construction Pipeline
by Jordan Brooks
Market Analyst | ALN Apartment Data
Apartment demand has dramatically cooled through April for the Greater San Antonio market , and indeed , for the nation as a whole . At the market level , net absorption was negative through April after finishing the same period above 2,000 net units in three of the previous four years . A corresponding slowdown in new deliveries for the area has so far mitigated the impact on average occupancy . Given this new reality , it makes for a good time to check in on the new construction pipeline .
As always , all numbers will refer to conventional properties of at least 50 units .
Average Construction Duration
ALN measure construction duration as the amount of time between a construction start date and a lease start date . Prior to 2021 , the average construction duration was between
12 and 13 months for the last handful of years . In 2021 , that average jumped to almost 15.5 months . For those properties to begin leasing so far in 2022 , admittedly a small sample size , last year ’ s average has held . For context , the national average for properties that began leasing was a 17-month construction time , and that average has grown so far this year to nearly 18 months .
Recent Deliveries
A dozen new properties have been delivered across Greater San Antonio in the last 12 months , but only two were introduced from the start of 2022 through April . The Stone Oak – Sonterra and the Downtown – Riverwalk submarkets were the only two submarkets with any new supply so far this year . Zooming out over the last 12 months , 11 of 25 ALN submarkets for Greater San Antonio have seen some level of new supply .
Under Construction
About 7,600 units were under construction but not yet leasing at the close of April . The South Central and Downtown – Riverwalk areas led the way with about 1,300 units each under construction . Other areas of note