West Palm Beach Multifamily Market Report

Vacancy aligned with historical norms. The average rent in West Palm Beach jumped by more than 40 percent since the end of 2020 as the market experienced robust population and economic growth over the past two years. However, this jump coincided with widespread inflation and rising interest rates, contributing to slowing household formation in recent quarters. As a result, vacancy elevated by 300 basis points during the past 12 months ending in March to 5.2 percent. This measurement remains 40 basis points below the metro’s long-term average, suggesting apartment fundamentals are still healthy by historical standards. Nevertheless, many projects that broke ground in 2021 in response to record-low vacancy will come online this year, pushing annual deliveries to a two-decade high. The influx of new supply will continue to inch up vacancy and moderate rent growth in the near-term.