Double-digit rent hikes are on the way

[Jon Klaus]

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/double-digit-rent-hikes-are-on-the-way-2011-01-13

A perfect storm is brewing for rents to rise.

Some highlights:

"Multifamily developers broke ground on just 114,000 units in the United States in 2010, a figure so low that it wouldn’t account for all the multifamily units lost last year to the wrecking ball or natural disasters."

“I’ve never seen so much pent-up demandâ€

“Why the demand? It’s impossible to buy a home because it’s darn near impossible to get a mortgage,†Jacobson said. “And we have this huge population in the biggest renter cohort†about to hit the market."

“When we open a 100-unit project, with three- and four-bedroom units, we will have 800 applicants every single time, wherever we are building across the country,†he said. “Without more investors to provide equity and more capital financing it is going to be very difficult to meet that demand.â€

This is obviously good news for investors and landlords, but is it true in your market? Personally, I have 100% occupancy, and it doesn't tale long to lease when one comes open.

What are you seeing in your market? Have you increased your rents? Do you buy in to double digit increases coming soon?

[David Beard]

You can't effectively classify entire counties or cities as A,B,C,D. These designations apply at the neighborhood level, and sometimes block by block the closer you get to the urban core in major cities. It reflects in aggregate: location, as well as property condition, architecture, and amenities (i.e. appeal).

Small non-institutional Investors generally love to find cheap C buildings in A/B locations.