Hickory

Apartment rents in the Hickory market rose at a 6.0% annual rate during the first quarter of 2023 and have posted an average yearly gain of 6.5% over the past three years. In addition to 1,400 units delivered over the past three years (a cumulative inventory expansion of 22.9%), there are 630 units currently underway. Vacancies in the metro were above the 10-year average as of the 1st quarter of 2023. They trended upward over the past four quarters.

Employment in the metro was recently increasing at an annual rate of 2.6%, or a gain of about 3,900 jobs. While a positive result, this does represent the weakest rate of job creation in the past twelve months, which at one point was as high as 4.1%.