Multifamily rents resilient in Oklahoma
admin / March 2025
Manageable supply, rebounding demand support stable performances
While many Southern markets struggle with heavy supply and softer rents, Oklahoma City and Tulsa, Oklahoma, report consistent rent gains over the past year.
At the end of 2024, Oklahoma City reported rent growth of 2.4%, while Tulsa led with 3.3%. Rent growth in Oklahoma continues to outpace the U.S. and track more closely to Midwest markets, which currently lead the nation in performance.
Rent growth in Oklahoma has fluctuated in past cycles, particularly during the 2016 energy downturn as demand dried up in the wake of heavier supply. Even so, Oklahoma markets remain relatively affordable, and economic diversification into manufacturing, aerospace and high-paying industries is driving in-migration since 2020. This trend supports steady housing demand in the long run.
Demand in Oklahoma’s largest markets trended higher in the past year. Even so, new supply, albeit tamer than in other fast-growing southeast markets, outstripped demand. Construction levels continue to taper, supporting supply and demand to shift closer to equilibrium. In Oklahoma City and Tulsa, the share of units under construction relative to inventory sits at 1.8% and 2.5%, respectively, below the national average of 3.4%.
In Oklahoma City, rent growth is found across the market with performances converging between 2% and 3.5%. By neighborhood, Midwest/Del City, central and south Oklahoma City report growth of above 3% and are relatively immune from supply-side pressure compared to suburban neighborhoods. Meanwhile, rents in Canadian County have softened to just 0.8% growth after an aggressive run-up in supply. Suburban population growth in Canadian County has catalyzed development over recent years, with builders growing inventory by 25% since 2020.
Outpacing its bigger brother, rent growth in Tulsa is led by relatively affordable neighborhoods. For example, market rents in east Tulsa and Midtown South carry about a $100 per month discount to the market, and report gains north of 4%. Meanwhile, undergoing a continued supply wave, rents in north Tulsa are essentially flat after an acute surge in new supply. Chasing population growth, north Tulsa is a renter destination in its infancy with around 4,150 units with 22% of that inventory still under construction.
Looking ahead, with demand stabilizing across the state, rent growth in Oklahoma City and Tulsa is expected to remain in the 3%-4% range over the next couple of years. The state’s manageable construction levels and economic expansion position both markets for continued stability.
« Previous
