IPS

The big push in apartment rents over the past year has been widely discussed, to the point that many people have the impression that all areas of California and the nation have seen an increase in rental prices. Not so…

The Reno-Sparks area of Nevada continues to struggle with rents and rent concessions.

Johnson-Perkins & Associates Inc., which completes a closely-watched survey of vacancies and rents in apartment complexes with at least 80 units, reported that the vacancy rate in the Reno-Sparks area stood at 6.56 percent at the start of this year.  Read more...

With the significant increase in rents during 2011, apartment operators nationwide are growing cautious about the future. From USA Today comes this article about the run-up in rents nationwide and how operators view their next steps:

…Across the country, as more people compete for apartments in the wake of the housing collapse, the market has swung in favor of landlords. For tenants, that means saying goodbye to move-in incentives and watching rents edge higher.

About a quarter of all apartments nationwide offered some type of concession in last year’s fourth quarter. By comparison, 53% of apartments offered concessions in the first quarter of 2010, according to data tracker MPF Research’s latest report.  Read more...

From MultiHousing News Online: Lance Swank, Chief Operating Officer at The Sterling Group, shares take-aways from the NMHC Annual Meeting in Boca Raton. Swank opines on rent growth in 2012 and a number of other topics including development outside “the sexy six” top markets.

Despite all the recent talk that the apartment market has seen a dramatic improvement in occupancy and rent growth, some see storm clouds on the horizon…

From the Wall Street Journal article, Apartments Lose Luster With Investors:

Last year, residential rental properties were one of the most sought-after property types, with sales totaling $54 billion by one measure, up more than 50% from the prior year, according to Real Capital Analytics. Average apartment prices per unit, about $102,000 nationally, are near peak levels.

But this year, the excitement is fading. Investors are pushing back on property prices, rent growth is slowing and yields are flattening in some markets.  Read more...

Marcus & Millichap has published it’s 2012 National Apartment Report, describing the dynamics of 44 regional apartment markets in the U.S. The top ten apartment markets for 2012 are:

#1 San Jose

#2 San Francisco

#3 New York

#4 Boston

#5 Orange County

#6 San Diego

#7 Austin

#8 Seattle-Tacoma

#9 Washington, DC

#10 Minneapolis

For a copy of the complete report, click here.

And from the Report’s “2012 National Apartment Outlook”:  Read more...