Apartment rents in Arlington continue to rise, with the median monthly price for two-bedroom units now more than $3,000 a month, according to new data.
Rents in Arlington increased 0.8 percent month-over-month in August, compared to a 0.1-percent decline nationally. Rents in Arlington now stand 4.7 percent higher than a year before – the seventh largest percentage increase among the 100 large urban areas tracked by Apartment List.
Figures for the month were released Aug. 29.
Arlington’s overall median rent of $2,644 ($2,490 for one-bedroom units and $3,009 for two bedrooms) compares to $2,203 for the Washington region as a whole and narrowly trails Tysons ($2,666) as the priciest subsection of the D.C. market.
Nationally, the median apartment-rental rate in August was $1,412. Among the 100 largest urban areas tracked by Apartment List, rates varied from $992 in Wichita, Kan., to $3,009 in Irvine, Calif.
Eight months into the year, rents in Arlington have risen 9.1 percent. This is a similar rate of growth compared to what the community was experiencing at this point last year: from January to August 2023, rents had increased 9.3 percent before retreating in the fall.
From an historical perspective:
• In 2019, the annual year-over-year change in median rent for the county stood at 3.1 percent.
• It then plummeted 13 percent in 2020 owing to COVID before skyrocketing back in 2021 with an increase of 17.9 percent.
• Since then there has been growth, of a more modest but increasing nature: up 4.1 percent in 2022 and 5.3 percent in 2023.
Nationally, the August data signal “the end of the rental market’s annual busy season, as well as the second consecutive summer of modest rent growth, as the market remains sluggish thanks to a windfall of new supply,” Apartment List analysts noted.
In August, rents were down month-over-month in 59 of 100 largest areas and were down year-over-year in 52.
“If historical trends hold, rents will continue to fall on a monthly basis for the remainder of the year,” they said.
“Most of these cities [with declines] are concentrated in Florida, Texas, Arizona and along the West Coast,” the analysts said. Austin, which saw a huge upward spike in rental costs as COVID came and went, has been down 7.5 percent over the past year, as new supply is outstripping demand.
“In contrast, many large cities in the Midwest and Northeast are still experiencing positive annual rent growth,” analysts said. Cleveland, historically a low-cost rental area, has seen an increase of just under 6 percent over the past year, highest on the survey.
An increase in supply has led to rising apartment-vacancy rates since late 2021 across the nation. The August Apartment List vacancy rate (6.7%) was the highest reading since August 2020.
Renters have more options than ever, analysts said.
“The number of multi-family units under construction remains near record levels – 2023 saw the most new apartments complete construction in more than 30 years, and an even greater number of new units are expected to come on the market this year,” they said.
In Arlington, however, the market is tighter, as the vacancy rate of 4.8 percent is down 0.8 points from a year ago.
For the full national report, see the Website at https://www.apartmentlist.com/research/national-rent-data. For the Arlington report, see the Website at https://www.apartmentlist.com/rent-report/va/arlington.
