Multi-family real estate vacancies are up, rents are down

The perfect storm for renters

For renters in America, the perfect storm is here, but for landlords, the news isn’t so pretty. According to Reis Inc, U.S. apartment rent amounts dropped in the first quarter, the vacancy rate continues to rise and unemployment is hampering tenant demand.

Effective rent is down 1.5% from 2009 and actual rents recieved fell to an average of $967.

Vacancies are still at 8% nationally which is the highest the rate has been in 30 years. Demand has diminished as unemployment numbers remain dismal and multiple generations sharing housing continues to rise.

Fret not, landlords…

In December 2009, CBRE projected rents to remain low and vacancies high throughout 2010 with potential improvement to resume in 2011, and today’s news from Reis continues to support this theory. We’ll see how 2011 shapes up.