U.S. apartment sector in ‘full expansion’ - Lansner on Real Estate via The Orange County Register

Apartments are becoming scarce in most U.S. housing markets, resulting in rent hikes throughout the nation, a new apartment outlook states.

Broker Marcus & Millichap’s 2012 National Apartment Report forecasts that employment and average rents will go up this year in all 44 U.S. metro areas it tracks.

“Recovery has moved beyond the cyclical surge in demand to a more sustainable expansion, as remarkable shifts in demographic, economic and social patterns underpin demand for rental housing,” the report said.

America created 900,000 new households last year, in part due to 20- to 34-year-olds taking 70% of the new jobs and moving out on their own, the report said.

Foreclosures, tight credit for home purchases, and people choosing renting over buying as a lifestyle preference “contributed to a net rise in rental households,” the report said.

Specifically, the report said.

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