On July 17, 2023, the county council enacted rent control. In Exile the Poor, Keep the Golf Courses I mentioned I’d keep a record of apartment rentals as advertised on realtor.com to test the expectation that because of the rent control rental inventory will shrink. Here is the update for October 4, 2023.
Analysis
This is our first report since rent control started, showing the change over roughly three-months. In all areas for all price points the inventory has declined except for rentals in Germantown below $1,500/month, rising from 14 units to 54.
As this is our first update since July, it’s difficult to attribute the inventory decline to rent control. Summer is often a time when leases expire and there is a seasonally higher inventory compared to Fall. We’ll be able to control for the seasonal effects with our updates staring next July. Until then we hope to publish these updates every few months.
