Rents Rise in NoMa and H Street, Fall on Capitol Hill

• April 7th 2014

by UrbanTurf Staff

Class A apartment rents in the region fell 0.4 percent in the first quarter of 2014 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 Delta Associates report analyzing the regional apartment market in the first quarter of 2014 states that rents for Class A apartments in sub-markets including NoMa/H Street (+4.6 percent) and Prince William County (+8.1 percent) increased over the last 12 months. However, in the three jurisdictions of DC, Suburban Maryland and Northern Virginia, rents for new apartments fell, and in some areas the drop was pronounced. For example, in South Arlington, rents fell just over 6 percent, while on Capitol Hill and Capitol Riverfront rents dropped 2.6 percent

From Delta Associates:

Washington apartment market metrics continue to be affected by a rising tide of supply. However, due to record setting absorption, the Class A stabilized vacancy rate improved to 4.5%, down from March 2013 when it stood at 4.9%. The already oversized 36-month development pipeline grew to the highest level we have ever recorded in the Washington region, 40,120 units at March 2014.

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.): $2,812 a month
• Upper Northwest: $2,654 a month
• Columbia Heights/Shaw: $2,599 a month
• NoMa/H Street: $2,358 a month
• Capitol Riverfront: $2,222 a month
• Rosslyn-Ballston Corridor: $2,382 a month
• South Arlington: $2,066 a month
• Bethesda: $2,574 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. Later this 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 https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/rents_rise_in_noma_h_street_fall_on_the_hill/8322.