There’s a Building Boom, but It’s Not for Everyone

America is in the midst of a building boom — but if you’re not affluent, you might not know it.

By the end of this year, more than 1.2 million new rental apartments will have been built in the United States since 2020, with nearly a million more expected in 2024 and 2025, according to a new report from RentCafe. Among 296 U.S. metro areas studied, the New York area is projected to have by far the most new rental units completed in 2023 — a total of 33,001, including 9,825 in Brooklyn, 4,430 in Queens, 3,770 in Manhattan and 2,215 in Jersey City.

Following New York is Dallas, where 23,659 rental apartments are expected to be completed this year, bringing its three-year total to just over 100,000 — the most of any metro during that period. Nearly as many will open in Austin (23,434), followed by Miami (20,906). The Miami area also has the greatest demand among all metro areas studied, with an average of 24 renters competing for each apartment.

The 20 metro areas with the most new units expected in 2023 are shown on this week’s chart. And therein lies the problem: 60 percent of all new rentals are in these 20 metros, but only 41 percent of U.S. renters live there. And nearly 90 percent of these new rentals are high-end units — affordable only to the well-off.

Typical renters don’t have enough affordable options now, and it appears they won’t in the near future, either. The study predicts that development of new units will slow in coming years, reined in by high interest rates and inflated costs of materials and labor, which make future projects more expensive to finance and complete.

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