We still have a shortage of supply but it is really only affecting the lower price ranges. Supply at the upper prices ranges is adequate and in some segments excessive. This is not only true of homes to buy, it appears to be a growing phenomenon for rentals too. Here is an article today from the Washington Post suggesting that the problem is widespread and not confined to Central Arizona.
According to the article, the median rent for a newly built apartment is $1,372 per month which is 50% more than the typical rent for existing apartments nationwide. A study from the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies found that only 10% of newly built apartments are affordable to the 49% of existing tenants who earn $35,000 a year or less. Because of the large swing away from home ownership, developers are finding plenty of affluent tenants for the new expensive apartments, but rents are rising fast for the low end because there is very little new supply and increasing demand.
In the ARMLS rental database the overall average lease rate for active listings is $1,820 per month and the average sq. ft. is 1,932. For apartments, the average rent is $1,568 with an average sq. ft. of 1,102 giving us an average rent of $1.42 per sq. ft. A year ago the rate was $1.22 per sq. ft., so the rise in asking price is 16.6% in just 12 months. The number of active apartment rental listings has declined 10% from 643 to 578 since last year.
Two years ago the average rent for apartments was only $1.12 per sq. ft. and we had 795 active listings. The average rent was $1,288 and the average sq. ft. was 1,151. Note that the average apartment rent asking price has risen 22% in the last 2 years even though the average apartment size has fallen 4%.
No comments:
Post a Comment