Class B Apartment Rents Up 15% in DC As Vacancy Drops

• July 27th

by UrbanTurf Staff

After falling last year, a new report shows that Class B rental units in the DC region have risen significantly in 2022. 

Rents for high-rise Class B apartments are up 15% in DC and 18% in the region year-over-year, per a new report from Delta Associates. Rents were up 9% in suburban Maryland and 15% in Northern Virginia. "Class B" generally refers to well-maintained older apartment stock with fewer amenities or other features that are considered dated. 

As rents rose over the last year, vacancy plummeted to 1.6%. Vacancy fell by 50 basis points in Northern Virginia, 80 basis points in Suburban Maryland, and a whopping 160 basis points in the District.

"The Washington metro area Class B multifamily market has continued to stabilize in recent months as vacancy lowers even more and rents continue to rise at high rates," the report stated. "Annual rent growth was positive in all but one submarket in the Washington metro area with all sub-state areas posting annual increases at or above 9%."

Here is a quick snapshot of average effective rents for mid- and high-rise Class B apartments in DC area sub-markets, as defined by Delta:

• Arlandria: $1,793 per month
• Bethesda/Chevy Chase: $2,200 per month
• Crystal City: $2,476 per month 
• Mount Vernon Square: $2,158 per month
• Silver Spring: $1,651 per month
• Southwest: $1,914 per month
• Upper Northwest: $2,203 per month
• West Alexandria: $1,948 per month

Note: The rents are an average of studios, one-, two-, and three-bedroom rental rates at Class B mid- and high-rise buildings in the DC area.

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/class-b-apartment-rents-up-15-in-dc-as-vacancy-drops/19919.