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The U.S. multifamily market experienced a surge in new construction deliveries in 2023, leading to a slowdown in rent growth, according to CBRE’s latest research.

But in Hartford, as in every major metro area in the Northeast, that wasn’t the case, helping keep the multifamily sector’s fundamentals solid.

Hartford rents went up an average of 4.3 percent on a year-over-year basis in the fourth quarter, second only to Providence’s 4.7 percent rent-growth rate and just ahead of Boston’s 3.2 percent rate. New York City came in fourth at 2.5 percent growth.

That compares to the average national monthly net effective rent growth of 0.4 percent year-over-year, significantly lower than the pre-pandemic five-year average of 2.7 percent and well below the peak of 15.2 percent in the first quarter of 2022.

Nationally, new construction deliveries reached a new high of 140,800 units in the fourth quarter, bringing the four-quarter total to a record 416,500. Fewer construction starts in recent quarters indicates there will be a decrease in deliveries in 2025 and beyond, CBRE said.

The multifamily vacancy rate rose slightly by 20 basis points quarter-over-quarter to 5.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2023. This rise was consistent with the 20-basis-point increase in the third quarter 2023. Net absorption reached 84,800 units in the fourth quarter 2023, representing a strong three months that was more than four times the pre-pandemic fourth-quarter average.

“Record new construction was met with robust renter demand in the fourth quarter,” Kelli Carhart, leader of Multifamily Capital Markets for CBRE, said in a statement. “We anticipate investment activity to pick up beginning in the second quarter, driven by the Fed’s likely rate cuts, which will help improve capital markets conditions. An uptick in loan maturities will also create transaction opportunities for distress-focused investors.”