Apartment Vacancies in U.S. Decline to a Decade Low as Rental Rates Climb via Bloomberg

U.S. apartment vacancies dropped to a 10-year low in the fourth quarter, allowing for rent increases that are likely to continue this year, Reis Inc. (REIS) said.

The vacancy rate fell to 5.2 percent, the lowest since the end of 2001, the New York-based property research firm said in a report today. It was 5.6 percent in the previous three months and 6.6 percent a year earlier. The average monthly effective rent, or what tenants paid after landlord giveaways, climbed 2.3 percent from a year earlier to $1,009, Reis said.

Rising foreclosures (HOMFREO) and stricter mortgage-lending standards have helped make rental housing the best-performing segment of commercial real estate for the past two years. The vacancy rate has fallen for seven straight quarters from a three-decade high of 8 percent at the end of 2009, according to Reis.

Read more...Apartment Vacancies in U.S. Decline to a Decade Low as Rental Rates Climb - Bloomberg