Across East Coast gateways, Boston is leading the recovery thanks to a 23% jolt in transaction volume in the first half of this year, according to Apartment List data.

“Due to the booming life sciences and tech industries, Boston’s knowledge-based economy growth is set to outperform the US over time in terms of gross domestic product (GDP) growth, which could boost the demand for multifamily properties and prompt continued momentum for the asset type,” Reonomy said.

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At the other end of the spectrum, New York City has regained only 56% of its pre-COVID transaction volume – the smallest among gateway markets, next to Washington, DC (60.6%).

Hard hit by the pandemic, New York saw a significant drop in commercial real estate transactions in the past year. Even as activity picks up, it still ranks last among the group of gateway cities for recovery. On a positive note, New York apartment rent growth has jumped 23% between January and June.