Apartment Market Shows Signs of Recovery; Rents Increase for First Time in 5 Quarters
Multi-Housing News online
By Anuradha Kher
...The apartment sector might well be on the path to recovery. Well, in quite a few markets, anyway. National vacancies remained flat and net absorption was surprisingly strong in the first quarter of 2010, according to the latest report by Reis Inc...
...Similarly, the outlook for SoCal apartment markets is mixed this year with rents declining up to 3.5 percent in Los Angeles and Orange counties, staying flat in Riverside and San Bernardino Counties, but inching upwards thanks to a better employment outlook in San Diego County, according to the latest Casden Real Estate Economics Forecast from the University of Southern California (USC) Lusk Center for Real Estate.
"Overall, Southern California will not see sustained increases in rents until the greater economic health of the region improves, but renters in San Diego may experience the kind of slight increase that comes when jobs return and housing is still too costly for renters to become buyers," says Tracey Seslen, Ph.D., co-author of this year's Casden Multifamily Market Forecast. The future health of the Southern California multifamily market continues to be shaped by jobs, housing prices, the "shadow" market of rental homes and condos, and new construction, Seslen explains...