Phoenix apartment rents edge modestly higher in the first quarter Article originally posted on CoStar on April 13, 2026 Broad dispersion across locations and quality segment The average asking rent at Phoenix multifamily properties ticked up 0.1% in the month of March, extending a four-month winning streak that began in December of last year. Last month’s performance translates into a 0.4% rent gain for the opening quarter of 2026, the strongest quarterly growth in two years. Rent growth occurred unevenly last quarter, with broad variance across both submarkets and quality segments. High-quality four- and five-star properties recorded a 0.7% rent increase in the first three months of 2026, with middle-rated three-star complexes seeing a 0.2% gain. Meanwhile, rents in the one-and-two-star category notched a 0.6% decline last quarter, marking the seventh consecutive quarter of losses. Similarly, growth was stronger in East Valley submarkets like Gilbert, North Scottsdale and Chandler. These areas all saw rents climb 1% or more in the first quarter, led by Chandler’s 2.9% increase. On the other hand, high-construction submarkets like the North West Valley, Southeast Valley and downtown Phoenix have underperformed, each posting losses of 0.5% or worse during the quarter. While the steady start to the year is an encouraging sign for a market that saw persistent rent losses throughout 2025, whether it signals a meaningful acceleration in rents for 2026 remains to be seen. Over the last three years, the Valley apartment market saw positive movement in the opening quarter, before steady declines in the back half of the year dragged annual rent growth into negative territory by year’s end. Stabilized marketwide vacancy remains at a decade high of about 9%, keeping competition for renters broadly elevated. Additionally, while the pace of completions is forecast to downshift in 2026, the substantial supply injection over the past few years drove an accumulation of excess inventory that still needs to be worked through. When combined with weaker prospects for employment and population growth, expectations are for 2026 to be another challenging year for rent gains, and the current forecast calls for annual losses.