Apartment Rates Continue to Grow in Oklahoma
admin / August 2024
Tulsa Rents Outpace Its Larger Neighbor
By Bill Kitchens
CoStar Analytics
August 6, 2024 | 10:56 AM
Apartment rents in Tulsa and Oklahoma City have converged for the first time, yielding a slight premium in Tulsa. The trend comes as more steady rent growth in Tulsa has allowed rents to outpace its larger neighbor.
Annual rent growth in Tulsa registered 4.1% through the second quarter of 2024, pushing market rents to $1,002 a month. Meanwhile, rents grew 2.5% in Oklahoma City over the same time, with market rents at $995 a month.
Both markets are relatively immune from supply-side pressure on vacancy, even as many southern markets wrestle with heavier pipelines. Tulsa has also maintained relatively tighter vacancy than Oklahoma City, yielding rents growing at a faster clip. Stabilized vacancy in Oklahoma City is 10.4% compared to Tulsa at 7.5%. Bucking a broader theme of weaker rent growth in the Sun Belt, both markets have maintained stable rent performances that more closely resemble the Midwest.
Major renter neighborhoods in Tulsa are seeing greater rent growth than Oklahoma City. For example, South Tulsa and Broken Arrow, a prime destination for multifamily demand, report rent growth of about 4%. That growth is twice what another major renter neighborhood in Oklahoma City, northwest, reports.
Rent growth is found across the quality spectrum in both markets and is bolstered by mid-priced units. Tulsa’s stock of three-star and below report 5.1% growth compared to Oklahoma City’s 2.4%. Meanwhile, rents for four-and-five star properties have risen by about 2% in both markets.
In terms of ranking market rents, Tulsa has historically played second-string to Oklahoma City. Over the past decade, market rents in Oklahoma City have carried a $31 per month premium compared to Tulsa. As the state capital and center of gravity for the state’s economy, Oklahoma City has typically commanded a greater premium for multifamily housing.
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