Soaring rents, occupancy rates have Austin apartment market among hottest in nation

[KevinFromTexas]

http://www.statesman.com/business/au..._comments_list

Soaring rents, occupancy rates have Austin apartment market among hottest in nation

By Shonda Novak
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Updated: 11:23 p.m. Friday, Aug. 12, 2011
Published: 10:57 p.m. Friday, Aug. 12, 2011


Laura Skelding /AMERICAN-STATESMAN
An apartment complex at Riverside Drive and Interstate 35 is one of just a few under construction in the area amid rising occupancy rates and rents.

With rents at an all-time high and occupancies rising, the Austin-area apartment market is among the healthiest in the nation right now and it could stay that way for a while, national and local real estate experts say.

Thanks to the area's job and population growth and the limited number of apartment units under construction, the Austin market is performing at a level similar to cities like San Jose, Calif.; San Francisco; Portland, Ore.; and Seattle.

"In my 25 years of analyzing the apartment market in Austin, I've never seen things as tight as they are right now," said Charles Heimsath, president of Capitol Market Research, an Austin-based real estate consulting firm.

[Spaceman]

This can be viewed two ways. New people are moving in to fill job openings and haven't had time to look for a home to purchase. Or the new jobs and existing jobs don't pay enough to make home ownership feasible. As the article said it's probably the first reason. Either way, don't overbuild. This happened in the 90's. Remember the days of the free washer and dryer, trips to Mexico(thanks but not now), etc.