The latest rental property occupancy data is in from Axiometrics, one of the leading providers of multi-family property data in the country. The occupancy rate, a very important metric for income property owners, remained high at 95%. This is up from the 94.8% occupancy rate of a year ago, and is quite encouraging, as this is the second month in a row where occupancy was at 95% or higher. For long-term comparison purposes, the occupancy rate five years ago was below 92%.
Aside from occupancy rate, effective rent also held strong, with the frequency of rent incentives (half month off first month's rent, for example) declining. The rent concession rate was down to only 0.78%, the lowest rate in at least five years. Effective rent rates are up by 4.5% year to date. Of course, these are national numbers in the aggregate, and not every market has experienced the same improvement, but it does give good indications for the strength of rentals as more and more families decide to rent rather than buy.
Looking at the greater Atlanta market, numbers are quite good, with Atlanta landing in the top 6 of the largest markets in the country. Occupancy rates in Atlanta were at 94.04% in June, and effective rent grew by 7.14% when compared to a year ago.
Of course, this is multi-family (apartment) data, so it doesn't transfer perfectly to the single-family housing market, but again, it's a good indication for the strength of income investment property over “flipping” and other forms of real estate investment.
Please give us a call if you'd like to get started in real estate investing to take advantage of this great market. And if you're already a current investor with multiple properties, we offer investor discounts!
