The Triangle’s most popular zip code for new apartments

As one of the fastest-growing areas in the country, the Triangle is seeing a significant rise in new apartment construction.

But one ZIP code outdid the others in fueling the increase: 27560, which includes the city of Morrisville.

This ZIP code alone built more apartments than entire towns and cities, including Cary and Chapel Hill, adding 2,625 units in just five years, according to a new study by RentCafe.

This translates to supply growth of 44.5%.

“All of these newly built units are top notch,” Felicity Domenti of RentCafe said in an email. That’s because residents living there, on average, “earn nearly twice as much as the metro average.”

Located off 27607 in downtown Raleigh near the main campus of North Carolina State University. It witnessed the construction of 1,688 new apartments during the same period, an increase of 55% in supply.

Rounding out the top three is zip code 27610. It’s in Raleigh and includes parts of Knightdale, Garner, and Clayton. It added 1,662 new apartments between 2018 and 2022. Only 34% of its newly built apartments fall into the “upscale” category, Domenti said.

Among the report’s other findings: While some neighborhoods in the Triangle may not be at the top of the list in terms of new apartment numbers due to original inventory, they are still seeing an increase in supply.

For example, the 27526 ZIP code in Fuquay-Varina more than tripled its supply of apartments — from 563 in 2017 to 1,781 in 2022 — an increase of 216%. This is the fourth highest growth rate in the country.

Nationally, Washington, D.C., dominated the top five with two ZIP codes — 20002 and 20003 — ranking first and second, respectively, with more than 14,000 apartments built in the past five years.

There are still huge shortcomings

Another study by RentCafe found that about 10,922 apartments are on track to be built in the Raleigh-Cary metro area by the end of the year, reaching a six-year peak and surpassing large centers like Seattle and San Francisco.

While inventory is slowly rising and the market is starting to return to normal, the Triangle is still facing a massive housing shortage.

The Raleigh metro area alone needs at least 17,000 more units, according to a recent Zillow study.

However, there are bright spots for homebuyers in the Triangle, said Matt Fowler, CEO of Triangle MLS, a platform for real estate listings.

“Especially for those looking for ‘smaller, more affordable housing’ outside of the city,” he said. “The region is not uniform; it is a collection of communities, each with their own metrics of demand and supply.