Rents in Huntsville grew faster than most metropolitan areas in America in the fourth quarter of last year, according to a market report by real estate technology and analytics firm RealPage Inc.. But local developers are responding to what is a national demand for apartments with more than 500 under construction in Huntsville.

Huntsville, where rents grew an average of 7.9 percent in 2019, topped the RealPage listing of small metro rent increases. The company says that increase is also higher than every large metro rent increase rate except one – Phoenix, where rates jumped a similar 8.1 percent last year.

The average fourth quarter occupancy rate in the Huntsville metro was 97 percent. Average monthly rent was $874, and there was demand for about 860 new units. Nationally, the average rent for an apartment is $1,414 a month.

Other large cities logging year-over-year rent growth of more than 5 percent are Las Vegas and Nashville. The demand pushing those increases is expected to “cool slightly” nationwide, RealPage says.

“Developers have struggled to produce enough new housing to meet demand in recent years,” according to Greg Willett, chief economist at RealPage. “However, the volume of apartments on the way in 2020 certainly could test the market’s ability to absorb a big block of additional units in a short time frame.”

Growth continues to surge in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, which has 26,000 apartment units set for completion this year. Washington and Houston are expecting 16,000 to 18,000 each. Atlanta will see 13,045 new apartments this year, up from 7,174 units built in 2019.