Doom, gloom spreads to rental market

October 7, 9:38 AMReal Estate News ExaminerBroderick Perkins

Previous Next

Comment Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the Real Estate News Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

The housing market's malaise has spread to the rental sector where the vacancy rate is at a 23-year high.

San Jose, the capital of Silicon Valley, has been hit hardest.

With the nation suffering a nearly 10 percent unemployment rate, jobless renters are vacating apartments just as homeowners are facing foreclosure.

Property research firm Reis, Inc. said the 7.8 percent apartment vacancy rate in the third quarter this year hasn't been this high since 1986.

The apartment market enjoyed a short-lived boom from 2006 to most of 2007, as refugees from the owner-occupied sector looked to more affordable apartments, but rental vacancies have been rising since the third quarter of 2007, according to Reis.

Good news for those who are looking to rent, rents are down 2.7 percent over the past year, according to Reis. Renters can negotiate for a host of incentives including rent-free months, long-term contract discounts and smaller move-in deposits.

Hardest hit were some of the same markets suffering owner-occupied housing woes, including San Jose, CA where rents were down 8 percent; New York, NY, down 6.8 percent; Orange County, CA, down 5.5 percent; San Francisco, CA, down 5.3 percent; Ventura, CA, down 5.1 percent; Los Angeles, CA down 4.6 percent; Miami, FL, down 4.6 percent; Las Vegas, NV, down 4.6 percent.

Get more rental housing news that really hits home.

Get still more rental housing news for your Real Estate News Examiner.

Use the "More About" keywords below to search for related news.