Atlanta
Atlanta is the No. 9 rent growth market of May 2015.

May apartment occupancy hit 95.3% this year, according to a new Axiometrics report.

The Dallas-based research firm notes this increase is 12 basis points above April’s occupancy and a 28 basis point increase compared to last May. It’s also the highest occupancy has been since August 2014, when the number was recorded at 95.2%.

However, national annual effective rent growth was down month-over-month at 5%, compared to April’s 5.1%. Still, the metric is a big improvement on the 3.6% rent growth recorded in May 2014, and marks the fourth straight month where the figure is above 5%.

Oakland, Calif. topped the list of markets with the largest annual rent growth in May for the top 50 apartment markets, with a whopping 14.3% rent growth. In fact, the West once again dominated the rankings, with Atlanta as the only Eastern market cracking the Top 10, clocking in ninth with 7% annual rent growth. 

Here are the Top 10 metros for rent growth in May:

1.       Oakland, Calif., 14.3%

2.       Portland, Ore., 12.2%

3.       Denver, Colo., 11%

4.       Sacramento, Calif., 10.7%

5.       San Jose, Calif., 9.9%

6.       San Francisco, Calif., 9.1%

7.       Riverside, Calif., 8.2%

8.       Seattle, Wash., 7.3%

9.       Atlanta, Ga., 7%

10.   Las Vegas, Nev., 6.6%