Report: Columbus apartment construction to slow
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While more houses are coming on the market, Columbus-area apartment construction is expected to slow 21% in the next four years, compared to the previous four, per a recent analysis by RentCafe.
Why it matters: The projected cool-down comes as a national shortage of homes to buy or rent is keeping housing prices high.
- As people postpone house purchases, a decline in new apartment construction paves the way for landlords to raise rents.
Flashback: A rush of new apartments, financed when interest rates were lower, helped recently to ease rent hikes.
Reality check: New apartments are often amenity-packed luxury buildings — with the price tag to prove it. The average Columbus asking rent in larger properties with multiple units cost roughly $1,300 in Q2, 25% higher than pre-pandemic levels, according to CoStar Group data.
Zoom out: Several major U.S. metro areas are on track to build fewer units in the coming years than they did during the COVID boom, per RentCafe.
- Some areas that led the upturn, including Houston and Minneapolis, are expected to see the biggest drops in completions between 2024 and 2028 compared to the previous five years.
What we're watching: If new Columbus zoning rules can spur housing growth as city leaders have predicted.
The bottom line: Renters might feel the housing supply crunch, too.
