While not in the top 10, Westchester County and New York City boast among the lowest vacancy rates in the United States, according to a report released by the N

WASHINGTON—While not in the top 10, Westchester County and New York City boast among the lowest vacancy rates in the United States, according to a report released by the National Association of Realtors on Aug. 2.

According to a blog by NAR Research Intern Jesse Priddy, the Westchester/Southern Connecticut multifamily markets ranked No. 11 among markets with the lowest third quarter multifamily vacancy rate at 2.45%. New York City came in a whisker behind at No. 12 with a 2.47% vacancy rate. Long Island came in with the fourth lowest multifamily vacancy rate at 2.1%. Northern New Jersey’s third quarter 2022 multifamily vacancy rate was 3.58%.

Other markets in the top five were: Duluth, MN (1.5%), Charleston, WV (2.0%), Green Bay, WI (2.0%) and Santa Barbara/Sta Maria/Goleta, CA (2.1%).

Compared to the pre-pandemic period in the first quarter of 2020, both the Westchester/Southern Connecticut and New York City markets got tighter. In the first quarter of 2020, the Westchester/Southern Connecticut multifamily vacancy rate was 2.8%, while New York City’s rate stood at 3.3%.

“In the third quarter of 2022 we are continuing to see multifamily rates increase across the board for most metro areas compared to last year,” NAR’s Priddy stated in a blog. “There could be many reasons for this, one being that we are seeing an influx of new multifamily properties being constructed.”

According to RealPage, the building of apartments is projected to hit a 30-year high this year, with an additional 427,000 units expected to finish construction in 2022. Dodge Construction Group reports there was $116.4 billion in new project volume in 2021, an increase of 25% from 2020. Priddy noted that the influx of new multifamily buildings and the resulting increase in vacancy rates is not being felt evenly across the country.

The five metro areas with the highest multifamily vacancy rates were: Huntsville, AL (14.1%), Coeur D’Alene, ID (13.9%), Corpus Christi, TX (11.7%), Beaumont/Port Author, TX (11.6%) and Augusta/Richmond County, GA (10.6%).

Link to graph