The rental market in the Wilmington metropolitan area fell for the fourth straight time to close out 2023, according to the latest data from Apartment List.
- M-O-M: Wilmington metro rents fell to a median monthly price of $1,271 in December, down 2.2% from November and the fourth straight decline.
- Y-O-Y: Rents are down 4.9% when compared to the same time last year.
NOTE: Rents are at their lowest level since March 2022 and are now down 9.7% from the peak of $1,408 in September 2022.
Drop Across The Board. The median one-bedroom rent fell to $1,187 in December, down 1.7% from November and the lowest level since February.
- The median two-bedroom rents fell to $1,274 in December, down 1.8% from November and the lowest level since February.
Vacancy Rate. The vacancy rate is falling along with rents as we wrap up 2023. The vacancy rate fell to 6.39% in December, down from November’s 6.4% rate and the lowest level since January 2023.
- This was the 7th straight monthly decline and is slightly below the national rate of 6.5%. which rose for the 26th month.
NOTE: Last year home prices started to fall month-over-month in July and continued to fall until February. Rents, meanwhile, didn’t start to drop till October and started increasing by March.
BOTTOM LINE: As the real estate market cools down so does the rental market. However, with the oversupply of apartments vs housing rents are likely to continue falling or stagnate for longer than last year’s downturn.