Central Ohio's apartment boom can be heard across the country. According to a new report from Zillow, Columbus is the nation's hottest apartment market, just above Seattle, Denver and San Jose, California. In the past three years, 6,800 apartments have been added in central Ohio, according to the Columbus apartment research and consulting firm Vogt Strategic Insights.

Central Ohio's apartment boom can be heard across the country.

According to a new report from Zillow, Columbus is the nation's hottest apartment market, just above Seattle, Denver and San Jose, California.

"While Columbus may not be on everyone's go-to list of hot markets, this college town is clearly undergoing an apartment building boom, and new units are going quickly," said Svenja Gudell, Zillow's chief economist.

The real-estate service based its rankings on three measurements: the percentage of total apartments built since 2011 in a community; how quickly new apartments rented in the past year; and overall rent appreciation.

In the past three years, 6,800 apartments have been added in central Ohio, according to the Columbus apartment research and consulting firm Vogt Strategic Insights.

Those apartments are filling up as fast as they open. According to Zillow, 77 percent of the apartments built in the past 12 months have been leased within three months of opening.

"In Columbus, you are able to rent out everything being built, whereas in San Francisco, for example, when you think of hot rental markets, they are building more apartments but they are very high-end and take longer to rent out," Gudell said.

The four most recent central Ohio apartment complexes built by Schottenstein Real Estate Group have all been fully leased the day construction ended, said Brian Schottenstein, the company's chief operating officer.

"We've been full upon completion, and occupancy has remained about 100 percent across the board," he said.

The company has already started getting inquiries about its latest project, Powell Grand, even though the 308-unit complex won't take its first tenants until the end of the year at the earliest, Schottenstein said.

Central Ohio apartment experts say the depth of the demand for apartments sets this boom apart from previous booms.

"I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop, but it just doesn't seem to happen," said Rob Vogt, owner of Vogt Strategic Insights. "In fact, we're adding all these apartments, and the vacancy rate continues to edge down."

Job growth and new households are driving apartment demand in Columbus and throughout the nation. Empty nesters tired of owning are also helping fill new apartments.

The nonstop demand continues to push rents higher. According to Zillow, central Ohio rents rose 6 percent on average in the past year. Other studies put the figure lower, but all agree that rents have steadily pointed up.

According to Vogt Strategic Insights, average Columbus rents have risen every month since November 2013.

Traditionally, vacancies appear in older apartments as new ones are built and tenants move up.

That hasn't happened with this boom. Demand and rent are growing throughout central Ohio, not just in new apartments in fashionable areas of town. According to Vogt, rent in older apartments with fewer amenities - called "Class B" or "Class C" in the industry - is up an average of 5.3 percent over the past two years.

Vogt expects construction to start winding down next year, but he acknowledges that demand so far shows no sign of abating.

"We're always worried about when we're going to run up against the wall, and that just doesn't seem to be on the horizon right now," he said.

jweiker@dispatch.com

@JimWeiker