Despite a barrage of new apartments in the Twin Cities metro, renters still don't have the upper-hand. A second-quarter report from Marquette Advisors shows that the average vacancy rate in the 13-county metro fell 50 basis points to 2.3 percent, causing rents to increase 3 percent to $979. This represents the largest quarterly decline in vacancy in two years and the ninth consecutive quarter with vacancy rates below 3 percent.
Those declines come despite the addition of 1,142 new apartments during the quarter. But as a growing number of construction cranes hovering over the Twin Cities suggests, thousands of additional new apartments are on their way, raising questions and doubts about how long the good times will roll.
Marquette VP, Brent Wittenberg, says that while the Twin Cities continues to outperform the nation and the rental boom will march on, certain submarkets are expected to show some signs of softness in the coming months and years. Click here to learn more about the oversupply situation from Star Tribune Business columnist, Lee Schafer.
I'm working on a complete story for the Wednesday paper. Stay tuned.
- Jim Buchta
