Apartment Occupancy and Rents Edged Up in February

For the first time in nearly two years, apartment occupancy and asking rents posted consecutive monthly gains in early 2026, though annual comparisons remained soft and regional performance varied, according to RealPage’s February 2026 update.

National occupancy ticked up to 94.8% in February, rising 10 basis points in both January and February. Effective occupancy remains 10 bps below year-ago levels and roughly 90 bps below the recent peak in April 2025.

Asking rents also rose, increasing roughly 0.3% over January averages to $1,864. However, rents remain about 0.4% below February 2025 levels, said RealPage.

Regionally, occupancy was highest in the Northeast at 96.1%, followed by the Midwest at 95.6%, the West at 95.1%, with the lowest occurring in the South at 93.9%.

Annual rent changes also diverged. The Midwest rose 2% and the Northeast increased by 0.8%. Meanwhile, the West and South faced declines of 0.3% and 2%, respectively.

Individual market performance reflected regional trends. Sun Belt and Western markets with elevated supply — including Austin, Phoenix and Charlotte — posted some of the steepest annual rent declines, even as leasing activity held steady. Tourism-driven markets such as Tampa, Nashville and Las Vegas also recorded deep year-over-year rent cuts.

Conversely, strong rent growth occurred in Virginia Beach and a handful of Midwest metros — including Chicago, Cleveland, Cincinnati, St. Louis, Minneapolis and Kansas City. Tech-centric coastal markets such as San Francisco, San Jose and New York also outperformed, with some markets up 4.5% to 9% year-over-year.