U.S. multifamily rents did not change in December, remaining at $1,359, and ended the year up 2.5 percent, according to Yardi Matrix’s monthly survey of 121 markets. That modest gain was the smallest annual increase since 2010, when rents fell 0.4 percent, according to the report.

In Boston, rents rose 2.4 percent between December 2016 and December 2017 and occupancy remained at 96.6 percent throughout that time period.

Nationwide rents have grown by at least 3.3 percent every year since 2010, peaking at 5.4 percent in 2015 and declining to 3.4 percent in 2016. December’s year-over-year 2.5 percent increase was up 20 basis points over the previous month, and overall rents are $4 off their all-time high of $1,363, which was achieved in September 2017. Rents were down 0.3 percent in the fourth quarter, which is only the second negative quarter of growth nationally since the second quarter of 2010 (rents also fell 0.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2016). Although the results are somewhat negative compared to recent history, the market has been consistently strong the market throughout the  recovery.