Alright, apartment construction’s slowed way down across the U.S., but let’s not act like it’s the same story everywhere. Redfin took a look at Census Bureau numbers and found multifamily permits got slashed by nearly a quarter compared to that pandemic building spree. Thing is, Sunbelt cities are out here like, “Slowdown? Never heard of her.”

From July 2024 to June 2025, the U.S. handed out about 12.8 multifamily permits for every 10,000 people. That’s a noticeable drop from the COVID boom (16.7 per 10,000), when cheap loans and Zoom meetings sent everyone scrambling for more space outside major metros.

Back to Old Habits

Texas and Florida went nuts building apartments the past few years—seriously, you couldn’t swing a cat without hitting a new mid-rise. Now? Construction’s basically back to the “normal” pace we saw during the 13 years before the pandemic. Like, 1.1% below that old average. It’s not a crash, more like a return to Earth.

Higher interest rates and a bunch of freshly-built but empty apartments have taken the wind out of developers’ sails in a lot of places. Still, rents in buildings with five or more units ticked up 1.7% in July versus last year, so clearly, folks are still clamoring for places to live.

Redfin’s Sheharyar Bokhari put it like this: “Rents are climbing again because not as many new apartments are coming online, and demand’s still solid.” Translation: Don’t hold your breath for sweet move-in deals.

Sunbelt Won’t Quit

Meanwhile, the Sunbelt’s basically on construction steroids. North Port, Florida, is leading the charge—cranking out 65 multifamily permits for every 10,000 residents. Austin’s right there too with 63.6 permits, so much for that “Austin’s cooling off” narrative. Cape Coral (63.6) and Raleigh (43.7) are also killing it, and Columbus, Ohio (42), is repping for the non-Southern cities.

California’s Permitting Faceplant

On the other hand, California cities got absolutely wrecked. Stockton’s permits? Gone—down 100%. San Jose’s fell almost 75%. You’ll see similar nosedives in Colorado Springs (-68%), Rochester, NY (-63%), and Philly (-62%). Why? California’s approval process makes the DMV look speedy.

Oklahoma City’s Outta Nowhere Boom

And then there’s Oklahoma City. Up 205%. Yeah, you read that right. Turns out, when a city is affordable, growing, and people actually want to live there, developers can’t build fast enough. New apartments are popping up alongside fresh shopping centers and, I don’t know, probably a few new Chick-fil-As.

Other places going wild: Providence (150% up), Pittsburgh (131%), Cape Coral (126%), and Hartford (123%). Not the usual suspects, right?

Permits vs. Rents: It’s Not Rocket Science

More apartments = less rent pressure. Less construction = rents go nuts. Pretty basic. San Jose and Chicago saw the biggest rent jumps. Austin and Jacksonville? Rents actually dropped.

Across the country, median asking rent climbed 1.7% year-over-year in July, now sitting at $1,790. San Jose rents spiked almost 9% to $3,569, even as building permits tanked. So yeah, not enough new apartments means renters get squeezed.

Point2Homes says a lot of these new places aren’t even in the city—they’re out in the ‘burbs where there’s more space and land doesn’t cost an arm and a leg. Here’s a wild stat: 203 U.S. metros now have more renters than homeowners, especially around Dallas, which is basically the rental capital of suburbia. In five of the 20 biggest metros (Boston, Baltimore, Dallas, Minneapolis, Tampa), suburban renters now outnumber homeowners.

Blame sky-high house prices and mortgage rates. Basically, buying’s out, renting’s in.

Doug Ressler from Yardi Matrix summed it up: “Homeownership is getting crazy expensive, but rent? In a lot of places, it’s flat or even dropping. Renting’s just the smarter move for most folks.”

The Bottom Line

Oklahoma City’s construction explosion is all about affordability. Tech hubs like Austin and San Jose will always pull renters, but for most cities, the future of apartment building depends on local housing costs, jobs, and whether mortgage rates chill out.

And hey, if rates drop and everyone gets called back to the office? Get ready for the next round of musical chairs in the rental market.