Class A Rents Rise in Capitol Hill, Columbia Heights, Fall in Arlington

• July 9, 2015

by UrbanTurf Staff

A new 290-unit rental project planned for 1244 South Capitol Street SE.

Class A apartment rents in the region changed little in the second quarter of 2015 versus the previous year, according to a report out late last week. But in a few pockets, rents rose even as new product continued to hit the market.

The report from Delta Associates analyzing the regional apartment market states that rents for Class A apartments in sub-markets including Capitol Hill/Navy Yard (+4.2 percent) and Columbia Heights/Shaw (+2.1 percent) increased over the last 12 months. However, rents for new apartment product did not rise across the board. For example, rents fell about 3 percent in Arlington and just over 3 percent in NoMa/H Street.

Click to enlarge.

While rents have been rising and falling across the region, the absorption of units at new buildings remains at record levels.

From Delta Associates:

The Washington area’s Class A apartment absorption was 13,800 units over the past 12 months — more than double the 10-year annual average of 6,595 units and a new record for the region. Unlike past dynamics, Class A absorption was not at the expense of the Class B market, which also experienced positive absorption of 2,684 units.

Here is a quick snapshot of average rents for Class A apartments in DC area sub-markets, as defined by Delta:

• Central (Penn Quarter, Logan Circle, Dupont Circle, etc.): $2,729 a month
• Upper Northwest: $2,877 a month
• Columbia Heights/Shaw: $2,631 a month
• NoMa/H Street: $2,267 a month
• Capitol Hill/Riverfront: $2,235 a month
• Rosslyn-Ballston Corridor: $2,351 a month
• South Arlington: $1,997 a month
• Bethesda: $2,541 a month

Note: The rents are an average of studios, one and two-bedroom rental rates at new buildings in the DC area.

The report released last week looked at Class A apartment projects. Next week, UrbanTurf will take a closer look at the state of the Class B market.

Definitions:

• Class A apartments are typically large buildings built after 1991, with full amenity packages. Class B buildings are generally older buildings that have been renovated and/or have more limited amenity packages.

This article originally published at http://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/class_a_rents_rise_in_capitol_hill_columbia_heights_fall_in_arlington/10101