Raleigh Multifamily Market Report

Rental demand is exceeding historical norms. From April to June 2023, renters absorbed 2,000 units on net across the Raleigh metro, outpacing the reading throughout the entirety of 2022. This past quarter’s figure — which more than doubled the long-term mean of 880 units — has been an encouraging sign for operators amid recent, abrupt rises in the marketwide vacancy rate. Despite this demand recovery, Raleigh’s unprecedented construction should inhibit the metric from easing any time soon. Nearly 30,000 units were planned or underway in the metro as of June, representing more than 16 percent of current inventory. Vacancy elevation in the coming months, driven by the completion of 5,800 units in this year’s latter half, will keep rent growth below the long-term average. The metric came in at a 27-month low of 1.6 percent over the year ended in June.