Apartment Vacancies Hit 23-Year High

New York, NY, Oct. 6, 2009--Apartment vacancies hit their highest point since 1986, according to Reis Inc., a New York real-estate research firm that tracks vacancies and rents in the top 79 U.S. markets.

Vacancies surged in cities from Raleigh, N.C., to Tacoma, Wash., as rising unemployment depressed demand.

The vacancy rate reached 7.8%, a 23-year high. The rate is expected to climb further in the fall and winter, when rental demand is weaker, pushing vacancies to the highest levels since Reis began its count in 1980.

Meanwhile, rents are also falling.

Nationally, effective rents have fallen by 2.7% over the past year, to around $972.

During the third quarter, vacancies increased in 42 markets, improved in 26 markets and remained unchanged in 11 markets.