SRQ Realtor

STAFF REPORT
Occupancy rates in Sarasota, Bradenton and Venice apartment complexes dropped nearly 5 percent during the past year and could be an indication that average rents won’t rise much in the months ahead, according to data released Thursday.

The local increase in apartment vacancies reflects a similar trend in every metropolitan area tracked by RealFacts, a Novato, Calif.-based firm that compiles data for the multi-family rental industry.

It’s most likely “a (consumer) reaction to rent increases that started earlier in the year,” RealFacts reported. “Such widespread declines in occupancy likely herald reductions in rent growth rates.”

Between late 2005 and late 2006, the average rent in surveyed Sarasota-Manatee apartment complexes reached $928, an increase of 4.2 percent. Meanwhile, those complexes saw their occupancy rates drop from 97 percent to 92.3 percent.

RealFacts surveys more than 12,000 rental complexes, all with 100 or more apartments, in 15 states. In Sarasota and Manatee counties, it surveys 26 properties with a total of 7,627 apartments, ranging from studios to three-bedroom, two-bath units.
Last modified: January 19. 2007 5:16AM

This entry was posted on Friday, January 19th, 2007 at 9:55 am and is filed under Florida Real Estate, Economy & Market. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.