Boise Apartment Rents Are Rising Again as Multifamily Supply Tightens
Boise’s apartment market may finally be moving out of its post-construction slowdown.
After several years of heavy multifamily development, higher vacancy, and increased competition for renters, the numbers are beginning to shift. Apartment demand is catching up with supply, construction has slowed significantly, and Boise rent growth is gaining momentum again.
The contrast with Spokane makes the change particularly interesting.
According to analysis by John Gillem and Elliott Krivenko in CoStar News, Boise and Spokane entered 2026 dealing with similar challenges after years of apartment construction. But the two markets are now recovering at different speeds. Their August 13, 2026 CoStar analysis shows Boise beginning to regain rent growth while Spokane remains much closer to flat.
For Boise commercial real estate investors and developers, the reason behind that difference may be more important than the rent numbers themselves.
Boise Is Absorbing Apartments Faster Than They’re Being Built
Boise’s apartment vacancy rate has fallen to approximately 8.2%, down 170 basis points from a year earlier.
That’s meaningful improvement.
More importantly, renters absorbed nearly 2,500 apartments during the past 12 months. That was approximately 400 more units than developers completed during the same period.
In simple terms, demand is finally outrunning new supply.
As that balance has improved, Boise asking rents have increased by more than 4% year over year.
That’s an important shift from the environment apartment owners faced during the recent development boom.
When large numbers of new apartments enter a market simultaneously, property managers compete for the same pool of renters. That often means concessions, discounted move-ins, free rent, and limited ability to push renewal rates.
When absorption begins exceeding deliveries, that pressure can gradually reverse.
Boise appears to be entering that phase.
Spokane shows why vacancy alone doesn’t tell the entire story.
Its apartment vacancy rate is approximately 8.1% — almost identical to Boise.
But Spokane’s vacancy actually increased about 50 basis points during the previous year.
Apartment absorption totaled fewer than 700 units, while new deliveries exceeded demand by approximately 400 units.
The result?
Spokane apartment rents increased by less than 1%.
Two markets can therefore have almost identical vacancy rates while moving in completely different directions.
For investors, the direction of vacancy can matter just as much as the vacancy rate itself.
Population Growth Is Giving Boise an Advantage
The biggest difference between Boise and Spokane appears to be demand.
The Boise metropolitan area added nearly 19,000 residents over the previous year, according to the CoStar analysis. Approximately 16,000 of those residents came through net migration.
That matters enormously for multifamily real estate.
More people moving into the Treasure Valley means more households need somewhere to live. Not everyone immediately purchases a home, which creates additional demand for apartments and rental housing.
Boise also continues to benefit from major economic investment.
Micron Technology’s semiconductor expansion is one of the most visible examples, but its impact extends beyond the jobs located directly at the facility.
Large projects create secondary demand.
Employees need housing.
Contractors need housing.
Suppliers hire employees.
Service businesses expand.
Restaurants and retailers gain customers.
Additional population creates demand for medical offices, childcare, fitness, entertainment, and other services.
That’s why multifamily performance shouldn’t be viewed separately from the broader Boise commercial real estate market.
Apartment absorption can be an early indicator of larger changes in household formation and economic activity.
Spokane is currently experiencing a different environment.
Its population increased only about 0.3% during the past year, adding slightly more than 3,000 residents. Employment growth has also been less consistent.
That doesn’t necessarily make Spokane a weak market.
It simply means demand isn’t currently growing quickly enough to absorb apartments at Boise’s pace.
And that difference is beginning to show up in rents.
Boise’s Shrinking Construction Pipeline Could Change the Market
The supply side of Boise’s apartment equation may be even more important.
Only a little more than 700 multifamily units remain under construction.
That represents roughly 1.6% of Boise’s existing apartment inventory and is dramatically below the construction levels reached around early 2023.
Think about what that means.
Boise just absorbed nearly 2,500 apartments over 12 months.
Yet only around 700 units remain under construction.
Those numbers won’t remain exactly the same, of course. Demand can change, projects can be added, and economic conditions can shift.
But the relationship is worth watching.
If Boise continues adding residents and households while apartment construction remains limited, vacancy could tighten further.
That would likely reduce concessions first.
Then landlords could gain more leverage on renewals.
Eventually, stronger effective and asking rents could follow.
CoStar’s forecast points in that direction, with Boise vacancy expected to continue improving and rent growth potentially strengthening through the end of 2026.
Spokane also has a smaller construction pipeline than it did during the development boom, with approximately 800 units underway.
However, a meaningful portion of those apartments is concentrated in the three-star category.
That creates another potential challenge.
When several similar properties compete for similar renters at roughly the same time, lease-up pressure can persist even when overall construction has slowed.
Boise appears better positioned to work through its remaining inventory sooner.
Why This Matters for Boise Multifamily Investors
For Boise investment property owners, the current numbers provide an important lesson:
Don’t evaluate multifamily opportunities based only on today’s vacancy and rents.
Look at where the market is moving.
Consider:
- Net absorption
- Apartment deliveries
- Units under construction
- Construction starts
- Population growth
- Net migration
- Employment growth
- Concessions
- Renewal increases
A property purchased when vacancy is 8% but falling can behave very differently from one purchased when vacancy is 8% and rising.
Boise and Spokane currently provide a good example.
The headline vacancy numbers are nearly identical.
The underlying fundamentals aren’t.
That distinction can affect acquisition underwriting, rent-growth assumptions, cap rates, development feasibility, and ultimately property values.
Local Insight: Boise May Be Entering the Next Phase of Its Apartment Cycle
From a Boise commercial real estate perspective, I think the most interesting number in this report is not the 4% rent growth.
It’s the roughly 700 apartments remaining under construction.
Boise’s multifamily market spent several years dealing with the consequences of aggressive development.
Projects that were planned when rents were climbing rapidly eventually delivered into a very different interest-rate and leasing environment.
That increased competition and pushed vacancy higher.
Now the cycle may be reversing.
Construction has slowed substantially, but Boise hasn’t stopped growing.
That’s the combination investors should watch.
If population growth remains strong while development stays constrained, existing apartments could benefit disproportionately because new supply cannot be created overnight.
Entitlements take time.
Construction takes time.
Financing takes time.
And today’s higher development costs make it difficult for developers to immediately respond when rents start moving higher.
That doesn’t mean Boise suddenly has an apartment shortage.
An 8.2% vacancy rate still gives renters choices, and individual submarkets and properties can perform very differently.
But the direction has clearly improved.
For apartment owners, declining vacancy could mean fewer concessions and greater pricing flexibility.
For investors, improving fundamentals could strengthen NOI if rent growth continues and operating incentives decline.
For developers, today’s numbers present a more complicated decision. Starting a project while construction activity is low can create an attractive delivery window — but only if rents eventually justify today’s land, financing, and construction costs.
And for Boise tenants, a tightening apartment market could eventually mean fewer move-in specials and stronger renewal increases.
The larger lesson is simple.
Supply alone doesn’t create a multifamily recovery. Demand does.
Boise and Spokane both experienced heavy apartment development.
Both are now seeing construction slow.
But Boise’s population growth, migration, economic expansion, and stronger apartment absorption are helping the market translate that slowdown into rent growth much faster.
If those trends continue, 2026 could prove to be the year Boise’s apartment market moved from absorbing the last development cycle to preparing for the next one.
Mike Gioioso (joy-OH-so)
has for 16+ years been helping companies of all sizes buy, build, and lease perfect places for business in greater Boise, Idaho and beyond.
www.streetsmartidaho.com mike@streetsmartidaho.com 208-209-9166
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