The Californification of Arlington’s apartment market continues. Price-wise, that is.
Despite a small dip month-over-month, median rental rates in the county were sixth highest among the 100 urban areas monitored by Apartment List.
Over the preceding year, Arlington rents grew 5.9 percent, better than across the D.C. region (up 3.2%), statewide (up 3.6%) and nationally (down 1%).
With a median rental rate of $2,431 in January ($2,290 for one-bedroom units, $2,767 for two bedrooms), Arlington’s median rental rate is 17 percent higher than metro-wide and 77.1 percent above the U.S. average ($1,207 for one-bedroom units, $1,359 for two bedrooms, $1,373 overall).
Nationally for the month, the highest median rental rate was found in Irvine, Calif. ($2,971) and the lowest in Cleveland ($951).
Arlington’s 0.4-percent decline month-over-month in median rents put it in the middle of the pack (53th out of 100) nationally in terms of net change. Fort Wayne, Ind., recorded the highest month-over-month growth (+1.1%) while Cleveland had the largest decline (-1.8%)
“The rental market kicked off the new year with a sixth straight month of negative rent growth,” Apartment List analysts said. “The recent declines are in line with the rental market’s typical seasonal pattern, as fewer renters are looking to move in the fall and winter, although this year’s dip has been a bit sharper and more prolonged than what we normally see.”
Despite a year-over-year national coolness in appreciation rates, “the national median rent is still more than $200 per month higher than it was just three years ago,” analysts said.
On the supply side of the market, Apartment List’s national vacancy index stands at 6.5 percent, slightly higher than the pre-pandemic average. Counting new units coming throughout 2024, “we expect that there will continue to be an abundance of vacant units on the market in the year ahead,” analysts noted.
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.
