...Apartment rents across Southern California will rise slowly this year, with average increases of 2.5 to 3 percent, while occupancy rates remain at 96-97 percent, according to the Casden Real Estate Economics Forecast released today by the University of Southern California Lusk Center for Real Estate (www.usc.edu/lusk).
"The Southern California apartment market is poised to weather the housing downturn and credit crunch as long as job losses are not too severe," said Delores Conway, Ph.D., director of the Casden forecast. "Renting remains attractive when mortgages are harder to obtain for high-priced homes. Although the national economy is skating close to a recession, the apartment market is supported by demand for trade, regional economic strength, and higher paying jobs in healthcare and professional services," she added...