April 1, 2026

Kansas City multifamily sales outpace 2024 levels

Q4 2025

Kansas City multifamily market overview

The Kansas City multifamily market recorded mixed operating conditions in 2025, with the vacancy rate climbing while asking rents improved. These shifts in fundamentals were driven by the flow of new inventory. Despite strong renter demand, deliveries continued to outpace absorption. There were roughly 3,100 net move-ins in 2025, the highest annual figure since 2021. Most of the units being absorbed are in Class A properties, consistent with recent years. This helped to support continued annual rent growth, even as vacancy ticked higher. There were a few submarkets where vacancy improved, such as Midtown and Independence. The Platte submarket performed especially well, with vacancy improving by 30 basis points annually while rent growth outpaced the rest of the market.

The multifamily investment market in Kansas City performed well during 2025. Even as the volume of sales slowed in the closing months of the year, the total number of transactions in 2025 still outpaced the trailing five-year average by 26%. Activity was spread out across the metro, with properties changing hands in both higher density urban areas and outlying suburbs. Pricing was elevated as well. The median sale price reached $146,000 per unit after declining in the preceding two years. Although current pricing still trails the 2022 peak, an unusually large share of Class A assets that traded that year, inflating overall pricing. During the second half of 2025, Class C properties made up the largest share of transactions, pushing the average cap rate higher. Cap rates averaged roughly 6.0% in 2025, up from around 5.5% in 2024 and early 2025.

Looking ahead:

The multifamily market in Kansas City will likely be in a period of adjustment throughout much of 2026. In recent years, the pace of new construction has been predictably steady, with developers delivering about 4,200 units per year since 2022. In 2026, that pace should quicken, with completions forecast to total approximately 5,000 units. While much of the incoming supply will be concentrated in established urban neighborhoods and expanding suburban hubs, where renter demand has proven to be the strongest, there will likely be increased upward pressure on vacancy in the coming year. Despite the influx of new supply, the local economy is positioned for continued growth and area employers are expected to expand payrolls. This should support renter demand for units and allow for a similar pace of rent growth to what was posted in 2025.

Multifamily investment activity in Kansas City is expected to remain elevated in 2026, with the overall number of properties changing hands staying above long-term historical averages. Several areas, including Overland Park and submarkets adjacent to the downtown core, could record heightened transaction counts, though investor interest is expected to remain broad-based across the metro. Class C properties accounted for roughly half of all sales in 2025 and are expected to represent the largest share of activity in the year ahead. Class B properties may record a greater number of sales in 2026 after accounting for roughly 15% of trades in 2025, though they are unlikely to outpace Class A trades by a significant margin.