Considering there is historically high demand for rental properties, coupled with limited supply, it's no wonder multifamily construction is up this year. New multifamily construction is at a 10-year high, according to Internet listing service RentCafe and sister company Yardi Matrix, which are projecting a 50 percent increase year-over-year in apartment construction for 2016, with 320,000 new apartments to be completed.
What unit sizes are developers favoring? This year, 51 percent of new apartments will be one-bedrooms. Of the remainder, two-bedrooms will comprise 37.5 percent, three-bedrooms will represent 6.7 percent and studios will make up the smallest share, at 4.7 percent of national rental inventory.
As supply increases, pricing has begun to moderate. National rental rates are projected to increase just 4.4 percent by year-end, after peaking in 2014 with 6.3 percent growth. (In 2015, rents grew by 5.6 percent.)