Methodology

The rents, vacancies, and apartment unit prices are medians and are estimates for the first quarter of this year. The price/rent ratio measures how many dollars of investment is needed to generate $1 of income. Metros with the lowest ratios require the least investment for the most return but can also come with risks such as relatively high vacancies. The median price per unit is arrived at using sales of buildings with multiple units. The sales price might not be reflective of buildings with only a few units. The markets in this report are metro areas, not cities. The "pros" and "cons" list for each metro was put together with the help of Marcus & Millichap Research Services.