Raleigh Multifamily Market Report

Rent gains remain measured as supply pressure moderates. The pace of expansion in apartment supply and renter demand should both ease by roughly 15 percent in 2026. This will return both completions and net absorption to their 10-year averages, signaling a more balanced market environment going forward. Despite this normalization, rent growth entering 2026 remains subdued. This reflects the lingering effects of 2025’s elevated concessions and the 2023-2024 construction surge, during which apartment inventory expanded by nearly 15 percent. Many newly completed properties remain in lease-up, with elevated incentives muting overall rent growth. A sharper pullback in new supply this year should support stronger momentum with vacancy and rent growth as the market absorbs the recent delivery wave. Even so, some submarkets may continue to experience pressure from incoming inventory, particularly Apex-Cary, where a record number of completions could weigh on rents despite vacancy holding near the mid-5 percent range. By contrast, Downtown Durham is poised for firmer performance later in the year as project openings drop by nearly 90 percent — the steepest annual decline in more than a decade.