Being in upper Midwest at the time, we had the opposite, tenants galore and rents ascending but, there was an ever present fear that "what-if" it went ugly like other areas (SW) were having. 

Is it flat, ascending, descending?

We are in an ascending market and have been for years now.

Because all we have to know is insights on future development, the math of inventory "wash-out" for ascending prices etc etc.

The phenomenon of 'ascendancy, improvement, appreciation' is agnostic to race, color, ethnicity or socio-economic class.

Now, I am betting many will say "see, loose a few hundred at start, OMG, what a horrible thing", which is completely blind to the fact that with correct placement it's in an ascending market, and what happens there, rents go up, often considerably, and again equitable gains.

Currently on Podcast 009 in ascending order.

Multifamily Investment ForecastNational Report, 2017National Multifamily Index (NMI) Several markets with favorable supply-and-demand balances and momentum in hiring made large moves to ascend to the top spots in the 2017 National Multifamily Index (NMI).Los Angeles advanced 11 places in the Index from one year ago to take the highest position in 2017 behind a forecast for further tightening in vacancy and minimal supply growth.

Talk about "ascending to the throne"!

Generally it’s tough to get a deal on the MLS in an ascending market.