Renters can consider the Sunbelt where more apartments are still being built
May 5, 2025
- Nearly two thirds of major metropolitan areas are issuing fewer permits to build multifamily apartments than during the pandemic.
- The slowdown in apartment construction could mean higher rents and fewer options.
- Still, areas particularly in the Sunbelt,such as Austin, Texas Cape Coral, Fla. and North Port, Fla., are still building apartments at a faster pace.
Apartment construction is slowing down, which probably won’t be good for renters.
There were permits to build 12.4 multifamily housing units per 10,000 people over the past year as ofMarch, marking the lowest level since April 2015, according to an analysis by real-estate brokerage Redfin, which reviewed the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
The slowdown is also a big drop from a pandemic boom in apartment construction, when there there were around 28% more multifamily units being built, Redfin said.
Redfin said flattening rents and high borrowing costs are making it less attractive to build new apartments, which could leave renters with fewer options and higher prices next year.
New apartments are being rented out at the slowest speed on record and builders are pumping the brakes because elevated interest rates are making many projects prohibitively expensive, Redfin Senior Economist Sheharyar Bokhari said in a statement. At some point in the next year, the slowdown in building will mean that renters have fewer options potentially leading to an increase in rents.
Apartment construction isn’t slowing down everywhere
Apartments are still being built at a faster pace in some areas, particularly in the Sunbelt.
For instance, Austin, Texas issuedpermits to build 64.5 multifamily units per 10,000 people over the past year, the highest number among 78 metros that Redfin analyzed.
Rents in Austin have fallen for nearly two years largely because an influx of new housing kept prices competitive, The Texas Tribune reports.
On the other hand, Stockton, Calif. had 0 new permits for multifamily units per 10,000 people in the past year, followed by Bakersfield, Calif. (0.8), Providence, R.I. (1.6), El Paso, Texas (1.6) and Baton Rouge, La. (1.9) in the rest of the five lowest metros.
Sign up below for The Daily Consumer, our newsletter on the latest consumer news, including recalls, scams, lawsuits and more.
.newsletter-form {
display: flex;
max-width: 400px;
margin: 20px auto;
background: #f8f9fa;
padding: 10px;
border-radius: 8px;
box-shadow: 0 4px 6px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1);
}
.newsletter-input {
flex: 1;
padding: 10px;
border: 1px solid #ccc;
border-radius: 5px 0 0 5px;
font-size: 16px;
outline: none;
}
.newsletter-input:focus {
border-color: #007bff;
}
.newsletter-button {
background: #2976D1;
color: white;
border: none;
padding: 10px 15px;
font-size: 16px;
border-radius: 0 5px 5px 0;
cursor: pointer;
transition: background 0.3s ease;
}
.newsletter-button:hover {
background: #0056b3;
}
#Rents #apartment #construction #slowdown