Jan 11

Apartment Rents Are Still Skyrocketing

Apartment Rents Are Still Skyrocketing

Apartment Rents Are Still Skyrocketing

Apartment Rents Are Still Skyrocketing

Apartment rents surged 4.6 percent in 2015, posting the largest gain since before the Great Recession. It’s a good time to be a landlord, but not a renter, according to the latest report out by Reis, a real estate research firm.

Apartment rents nationwide now average nearly $1,180, which is up from $1,125 a year ago, Reis reports.

The fourth quarter “wrapped up an incredible year for the apartment market, probably the strongest we’ve ever seen,” says Jay Denton, senior vice president of analytics at Axiometrics Inc., an apartment research company that also released a report showing rents rose 4.7 percent in the fourth quarter compared with the same quarter a year earlier.

For the past six years, rents have been on the rise. Increases have ranged from 2.3 percent in 2010 to about 4 percent in the last two years.

The higher rents edge up, the more difficult it proves for young adults to save enough to become home owners. The number of first-time home buyers in the real estate market, as such, has dipped to a three-decade low, according to the National Association of REALTORS®.

The apartment market may be showing some signs of peaking, however, as a greater supply of apartment buildings hit the market. Vacancy rates edged up slightly in the fourth quarter to 4.4 percent compared to 4.3 percent in the previous quarter.

The increase in competition is causing landlords to limit the amount that they can raise prices, says Bob DeWitt, president and chief executive of GID, a Boston-based apartment owner and developer.

“We certainly believe that over the next two or three years rent trends are going to slow and in some places they may actually back up,” he told The Wall Street Journal.

Some hot apartment markets are already showing signs of slowing. For example, rents in the San Francisco area rose 7.6 percent year-over-year in the fourth quarter, compared with 11.8 percent in the third quarter, according to Axiometrics. Also, rents in San Jose, Calif. rose 7.1 percent compared with 9.9 percent in the third quarter.

Source: “U.S. Apartment Rents Rose the Most Last Year Since Recession, Survey Says,” The Wall Street Journal (Jan. 6, 2016)

admin

For all of your Real Estate needs, place yourself in the competent hands of a career Realtor who is a Philadelphia native and Delaware County resident. Skilled, smart and enthusiastic about his work and his life, Anthony DiDonato has the appealing combination of business sense and people skills gives him an edge in an industry that demands both.

Educated at Drexel University with a dual major in accounting and finance and minors in management and psychology Anthony DiDonato offers over 25 years of experience in the real estate industry. He has been a real estate investor since 1985 and a member of H.A.P.C.O. (Landlord Association). He became a licensed Realtor in 1992 and a member of the Local, Pennsylvania and National Associations of Realtors. Anthony DiDonato is also a member of the Computerized Multiple Listings, (MLS) and Internet Marketing Programs. In 1997 Anthony DiDonato became Century 21 All-Elite, Inc. Corporate Secretary.

Anthony DiDonato believes in taking his profession to the highest level of quality service. He is known for finding that “perfect” property in Philadelphia, Delaware County, Chester County, Montgomery County and surrounding areas in Pennsylvania for his buyers and helping his sellers prepare their properties so they sell quickly and efficiently.

When it comes time to negotiate the terms of a contract, Anthony DiDonato has the knowledge, experience, and professionalism applied to meeting – or exceeding – his clients’ expectations. His service to his clients is second to none. His honesty and integrity have been his claim to fame.

For Superior Real Estate Representation in the Delaware Valley, Philadelphia, Delaware County, Chester County, Montgomery County and surrounding areas in Pennsylvania… call Anthony DiDonato.