September 30, 2021

St. Louis Q2 Multifamily Market Report: Multifamily Sales Activity Surges as Competition Intensifies

Highlights:

After a slower start to the year, the St. Louis multifamily market gained momentum during the second quarter. The local vacancy rate improved, and rents crept higher. New apartment deliveries have been modest to this point but are forecast to accelerate by year end.
Vacancy tightened during the second quarter, with the rate dropping 30 basis points to 5.2 percent. Despite the recent improvement, vacancy is 40 basis points higher than the figure one year ago.
Asking rents have advanced 2.4 percent year over year, ending the second quarter at $1,018 per month. Rents posted a healthy gain at the beginning of the year before the pace of growth cooled a bit in the second quarter.
The pace of sales activity gained momentum during the second quarter. The number of transactions that closed in the second quarter was more than double the levels recorded at the beginning of the year. As competition has intensified, prices have risen; the median price is $159,500 per unit, while cap rates have averaged 5.4 percent in 2021.