Fairfield County Multifamily Market Report

Vacancy trends bifurcated between apartment classes. Connecticut’s Gold Coast is continuing to attract upper-income renters. Although the initial surge in demand from New Yorkers seeking suburban apartments largely abated last year, Class A vacancy nevertheless improved over the first six months of 2023. Effective rents remain elevated across rental tiers, noted at roughly 20 percent over the year-end 2019 level entering July. This has prompted affordability concerns for some renters. After reaching an all-time low during the previous yearlong span, Class C vacancy more than doubled during the 12-month period ended in June to 6.0 percent. Still, a high barrier to homeownership should backstop availability. The mean mortgage payment on a median priced home reached $5,262 per month in June, 82 percent above the average rent. Monthly single-family housing costs are only exceeded by New York among East Coast markets.