Lower rents mean fewer apartment vacancies
Report says September rate was at 5.7 percent
By Roger Showley
Union-Tribune Staff Writer
Apartment vacancies dropped for the first time in a year in San Diego County as lowered rents lured more tenants to large complexes, according to a report from research firm RealFacts being released today.
The vacancy rate stood at 5.7 percent in September, down from 6.5 percent in the second quarter and up from the most recent low point of 4.2 percent in the third quarter of last year.
The turnaround came in response to average rents dropping from a high of $1,406 a year ago to $1,376 in a survey of 444 projects that include 100,036 units. The survey generally is conducted among complexes with at least 100 apartments.