rental occupancy down

http://www.nmhc.org/Content/ServeContent.cfm?ContentItemID=5921 “The apartment market continues to gather strength,” said NMHC Chief Economist Mark Obrinsky. “Just 15 months ago, apartment demand was still falling, sales were declining, equity finance was getting harder or more costly to find and debt finance was still worsening. In the last nine months, all four areas have been improving... [more]

http://www.nmhc.org/Content/ServeContent.cfm?ContentItemID=5921 “The apartment market continues to gather strength,” said NMHC Chief Economist Mark Obrinsky. “Just 15 months ago, apartment demand was still falling, sales were declining, equity finance was getting harder or more costly to find and debt finance was still worsening. In the last nine months, all four areas have been improving dramatically. Indeed, the strong responses in each of our last three quarterly surveys indicate widespread improvement throughout 2010.” “While demand for apartment residences and apartment properties is still below the peak levels seen in the last decade, the further shift from owning to renting may well add to apartment demand in the near-term, while population growth and a rebound in household formation should strengthen demand over the longer term,” Obrinsky continued. “But at some point, economic growth will have to shift into a higher gear for the apartment industry to see conditions continue to register improvements of this level.” [less]