This year’s surging demand for apartments continued into the third quarter exceeding last quarter’s record amount of absorption. Quarterly demand in the nation’s 150 core markets increased to 268,331 units according to data from RealPage, which brings the 12-month total to 610,715 units. Occupancy rose one full point from last quarter to 97.2%, which is 1.5 points higher than a year ago. One driver of this accelerated demand is a recovery in the gateway markets that suffered the most during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. While not over, the impacts of the pandemic have decreased and more workers are returning to the office, leading to a renewed interest in apartments located in densely populated urban centers.