New apartment construction to match 50-year high

By the numbers: 2022 is expected to be the second year in a row in which more than 400,000 apartments were completed, with 423,000 delivered nationwide in 2021, according to RentCafe.

• The last time the apartment completions surpassed 400,000 units, barring 2021, was in 1972.
• RentCafe said the construction boom was likely being driven by high inflation and increased housing prices and interest rates.

The big picture: The New York metro is projected to complete the most new apartments in 2022, with 28,153 units expected to be finished.

• Dallas-Fort Worth is set to come in second with 23,571 units, followed by Miami with 19,125 apartments.

Yes, but: Despite of 2021's historic construction boom and the projections for 2022, rental prices still appear to be skyrocketing.

• Apartment listing service Apartment List's national rental index rose by 1.1% over the course of July, and year-over-year rent growth currently stands at 12.3%.
• It said rental prices are rising slower than they did in 2021 — during which the median rent increased by a record 17.6% over the course — but faster than they did in the years before the pandemic, according to Apartment List.

Go deeper: Why rents are soaring pretty much everywhere in the U.S.