Multifamily

For the remainder of 2018, positive demand drivers will alter new apartment supply’s impact on operations in Louisville. The metro has had a large volume of new apartments to open this business cycle. Since 2013, an annual average of 1,500 units has been completed, totaling approximately 7,400 apartment units. As this new supply entered the market, initially strong leasing helped push vacancy down 100 basis points to 4.6 percent at the end of 2016. However, absorption of apartments softened last year as new units continued to open, lifting vacancy back up 90 basis points to 5.6 percent. This year, approximately 2,800 apartment units will be completed, further testing demand for luxury rentals in Louisville. A team of factors should fuel positive absorption, preventing an alarming uptick and keeping the vacancy rate in the mid-5 percent range. Payroll expansions by tech firms, manufacturing companies and hospitals will support consistent year-over-year hiring and income growth this year. Sub-4 percent unemployment suggests employers will recruit from outside the market to fill open positions or hire recent graduates from the University of Louisville and other local colleges. These job gains should increase the rate of household formations and bolster the market’s millennial base, an …