DURHAM, N.C. (WNCN) — Construction workers are building all across downtown Durham, but thousands of existing apartments are still empty. There are also several new complexes that haven’t even opened yet.

“It’s really been that extra supply, all the new buildings that have gotten built in the last few years have really pushed that vacancy rate up,” CoStar Market Analytics Director Nick Leverett said.

According to CoStar, downtown Durham’s apartment vacancy rate currently sits at 10.1%, which means nearly 2,500 units are unoccupied.

“Those numbers are a little higher than what I’d call kind of normal,” Leverett said. “Over the past decade, vacancy rate in downtown Durham’s probably been about 8.5%.”

The city (10.6%) and county (10.4%) both have even higher vacancy rates than downtown, especially at new luxury buildings. But experts say families are still moving to the area.

CoStar’s data shows rents are currently down 1.9% year over year in downtown Durham with a 13.6% vacancy rate at “4 and 5 star apartments.”

“When a lot of the buildings that are under construction now get delivered and that construction pipeline slows, I think we’ll start to see that vacancy start to come down,” Leverett said.

Overall, high apartment vacancy rates in downtown Durham are improving after they peaked at 12.5 percent earlier this year. But local experts tell CBS 17 construction is still outpacing the rental demand.

Durham Mayor Leonardo Williams tells CBS 17 the supply increased due to extremely high demand in recent years, but a look at policy can ease access to housing.

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