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| Apartment Rent Growth Slows in Third Quarter |
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(October 13, 2008) --
Apartment rents grew more slowly in the third quarter than they have since 2003, according to Axiometrics Inc., an apartment research firm.
During and after the last recession that ran from March to November of 2001, the economy lost about 1.8 million jobs. Since jobs are what drive the apartment market, rents didn't increase for nine consecutive quarters, Axiometrics says.
Beginning in the first quarter of 2004, annual rent growth turned positive and continued to be positive through the third quarter of 2008, when rent growth slowed to 0.8 percent, the lowest growth of any quarter since 2004, Axiometrics says.
Axiometrics predicts that apartment growth will continue to slow during the current economy.
The markets with biggest declines in annual effective rent growth compared to a year ago are:
- Austin, Texas
- Charlotte, N.C.
- Chicago
- Los Angeles
- Portland, Ore.
- Raleigh, N.C.
- San Jose, Calif.
- Santa Ana, Calif.
- Virginia Beach, Va.
Markets with improved annual effective rental rate growth compared to a year ago were:
- Boston
- Birmingham, Ala.
- Durham, N.C.
- San Diego, Calif.
- Washington, DC.
Source: REALTOR magazine online
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| Reprinted from REALTOR® Magazine Online (http://www.realtor.org/realtormag), October 13, 2008 with permission of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®. Copyright 2007. All rights reserved. |
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