Investment propertyHow Does Your Rent Compare?
The report, which tracks apartment occupancy by region, showed that U.S. occupancy rose 0.3 points from the first quarter of 1997. Most gains were in the South, where strong job growth produced sufficient demand to absorb the substantial number of new units completed. In the rest of the country, gains were modest. Occupancy stood at 96.0% in the Northeast and 94.7% to 95.1% in the Midwest, West and South.
Average rents climbed 3.9% from early 1997 through early 1998, with the West leading the nation"s rent growth pace. Price escalation plroved especially strong in Orange County, San Diego, Seattle, Oakland and San Francisco.
National rents averaged $780/month in 1998"s 1st quarter, with the regional averages ranging from $697 in the South to $867 in the West.
Following is summary information from the 1st Quarter 1998 edition of M/PF Research"s U.S. Apartment Market Report, based on data collected from 724,500 units in nearly 2,900 professionally managed apartment communities nationwide:
U.S. Apartment Market Performance1st Quarter 1998
OccupancyAverage Monthly RentAverageRent/Sq. Ft.
U.S. Average94.9%$780$0.915
Middlesex99.1%$798$1.060
Newark99.4%$711$0.920
Philadelphia93.9%$922$1.060
Pittsburgh95.1%$753$0.890
North East Region Average96.0%$826$0.994
Atlanta95.6%$770$0.780
Austin93.5%$672$0.860
Baltimore96.5%$698$0.800
Charlotte92.0%$654$0.710
Dallas95.7%$636$0.790
El Paso91.6%$513$0.570
Ft. Lauderdale94.4%$853$0.840
Ft. Worth94.6%$559$0.710
Greensboro89.6%$592$0.670
Greenville91.9%$558$0.610
Houston95.4%$582$0.710
Jacksonville93.4%$620$0.670
Louisville92.1%$591$0.630
Memphis94.8%$543$0.590
Miami91.6%$830$0.890
Nashville92.6%$604$0.670
Norfolk94.2%$642$0.700
Oklahoma City91.6%$448$0.590
Orlando95.0%$655$0.720
Raleigh94.8%$713$0.780
Richmond94.6%$614$0.670
San Antonio93.9%$558$0.690
Tampa94.0%$658$0.730
Tulsa93.8%$466$0.650
Washington DC97.0%$941$1.010
West Palm Beach97.4%$851$0.810
South Region Average94.7%$697$0.778
Chicago96.6%$959$1.160
Cincinnati94.9%$695$0.690
Cleveland93.7%$664$0.800
Columbus93.4%$536$0.630
Dayton90.9%$593$0.640
Detroit94.1%$657$0.750
Indianapolis93.6%$592$0.660
Kansas City96.8%$622$0.680
Minneapolis97.4%$951$0.970
St. Louis91.0%$634$0.660
Midwest Region Average95.1%$780$0.888
Albuquerque93.3%$619$0.750
Denver94.3%$717$0.860
Las Vegas91.4%$811$1.110
Oakland96.7%$1,151$1.400
Orange County94.9%$913$1.070
Phoenix95.4%$691$0.800
Portland94.6%$706$0.800
Riverside94.6%$702$0.810
Sacramento94.8%$722$0.810
Salt Lake City92.4%$653$0.780
San Diego97.0%$846$1.010
San Francisco96.8%$1,542$1.840
San Jose98.3%$1,448$1.680
Seattle96.6%$783$0.930
Tucson93.0%$577$0.710
West Region Average94.9%$867$1.070