The national multifamily picture strengthened broadly in the week of August 2, with rents and leasing both picking up as occupancy held above last year. As of August 2, the average U.S. occupancy rate was 94.86%, up 4 basis points on the week and up 16 basis points from a year ago. That's a third straight week above last year. Leased percentage was 96.89%, up 11 basis points on the week and down 70 basis points from a year ago. The leased percentage is holding its weekly gain, even as the year-over-year gap remains.
Leasing activity gained momentum, with an average of 2.3 leases signed per property this week, up 0.2 from the prior week and the strongest pace we've seen in this stretch. That said, it's still 0.7 leases per week below where things stood a year ago. The recent uptick in new leasing, following weeks of flat volume, is an encouraging signal, it suggests demand is contributing to the recent firming, rather than the improvement being driven by retention alone.
Net effective rent picked back up. NER rose 0.4% on the week to $1,766, and annual NER growth for new leases improved to negative 1.4%, up from negative 1.9% the prior week. After a flat stretch, rents are once again narrowing the annual gap, that's the piece that had been lagging. The national picture remains uneven, with several coastal markets posting solid positive annual growth while much of the Sun Belt is still working through negative territory.
RevPAU came in at $1,675, up 0.5% on the week, with the annual comparison improving to negative 1.3% from negative 1.6% the prior week. Revenue is advancing this week, with occupancy, rents, and leasing volume all pointing the same direction. For operators, this was a broadly positive week-over-week read, with all five metrics moving the right way as we open August, even as a couple of them still work through year-over-year gaps.
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