Average U.S. apartment vacancy rates dropped to 6.6% last year from 8%, according to property-research firm Reis, while rents rose 2.3%. This has developers salivating over the potential for a multiyear rental boom. After all, the glut of foreclosed, single-family homes so far isn't proving much competition. Occupied apartments rose by about 58,000 in the fourth quarter, the biggest increase for that period in 10 years, according to Reis.
It is "very good to be in the apartment business today," David Neithercut, chief executive of Equity Residential, the biggest public U.S. real-estate investment trust, remarked at a recent conference.
Population growth, a gradual firming of the labor market and a drop in the U.S. homeownership rate to 65% from its near-70% peak could generate about 4.5 million new renter households over the next five years, according to Greenstreet Advisors.
That level of demand "will far outstrip supply" through 2015, Greenstreet reckons, given the relatively low level of multifamily homebuilding in recent years. No wonder developers are itching to get in on the action. A multifamily production index from the National Association of Home Builders to track developer sentiment jumped to 40.8 in the fourth quarter, its highest reading since 2006.
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If you would like the chance to work with me or one of my fellow real estate investor coaches and our advanced training programs, give us a call anytime to see if Dean's Real Estate Success Academy and our customized curriculum is a fit for you. Call us at 1-877-219-1474 ext. 125
The rental market is heating up.
Average U.S. apartment vacancy rates dropped to 6.6% last year from 8%, according to property-research firm Reis, while rents rose 2.3%. This has developers salivating over the potential for a multiyear rental boom. After all, the glut of foreclosed, single-family homes so far isn't proving much competition. Occupied apartments rose by about 58,000 in the fourth quarter, the biggest increase for that period in 10 years, according to Reis.
It is "very good to be in the apartment business today," David Neithercut, chief executive of Equity Residential, the biggest public U.S. real-estate investment trust, remarked at a recent conference.
Population growth, a gradual firming of the labor market and a drop in the U.S. homeownership rate to 65% from its near-70% peak could generate about 4.5 million new renter households over the next five years, according to Greenstreet Advisors.
That level of demand "will far outstrip supply" through 2015, Greenstreet reckons, given the relatively low level of multifamily homebuilding in recent years. No wonder developers are itching to get in on the action. A multifamily production index from the National Association of Home Builders to track developer sentiment jumped to 40.8 in the fourth quarter, its highest reading since 2006.
If you would like the chance to work with me or one of my fellow real estate investor coaches and our advanced training programs, give us a call anytime to see if Dean's Real Estate Success Academy and our customized curriculum is a fit for you. Call us at 1-877-219-1474 ext. 125