Research & Forecast Report
GREATER PHOENIX | MULTIFAMILY Q4 2017
Rents Continue on an Upward Trajectory Key Takeaways > The fourth quarter closed out a very strong 2017 in the Greater Phoenix multifamily market. There has proven to be sufficient renter demand in the market to absorb the new inventory coming online. With vacancy levels remaining low, rents are posting healthy gains. > Vacancy ticked up 20 basis points during the fourth quarter, reaching 5.9 percent. Despite the modest rise in the final few months of 2017, vacancy is 10 basis points lower than one year ago.
Market Indicators Relative to prior period
Market Q4 2017
Market Q4 2016
Vacancy Rents Transaction Activity Price Per Unit Cap Rates
> Asking rents rose 6.8 percent in 2017, ending the year at $994 per month. This marked the third straight year where asking rent gains exceeded 6 percent. > With rents on an extended upswing, multifamily prices are pushing higher. The median price rose 6 percent in 2017, topping $110,000 per unit. Cap rates compressed slightly, averaging in the mid- to low-5 percent range for most of the year.
Greater Phoenix Multifamily Market The Greater Phoenix multifamily market closed out another strong year in 2017. Vacancy inched higher in the fourth quarter, but the rate is still lower today than it was one year ago. Vacancy has remained in a very tight range since the second half of 2014, with the rate never ticking above 6.5 percent or below 5.0 percent. The vacancy rate has remained low even as a wave of new units has come online. Deliveries peaked in 2017 and the pace of new construction will likely slow in the year ahead. While the number of new units forecast to come online in 2018 will mark a dip from the 2017 total, deliveries are being spread across a greater number of submarkets than in recent years. More than half of the submarkets in Greater Phoenix have units currently under construction, with activity picking up in areas such as Peoria, Goodyear and Avondale.
Summary Statistics Vacancy Rate Change from 4Q 2016 (bps)
Asking Rents (per month) Change from 4Q 2016
Median Sales Price (per unit YTD) Average Cap Rate (YTD)
Phoenix Market 5.9% -10 $994 6.8% $110,200 5.5%