Quantcast
MobileRJ | RSS TwitterTwitter FacebookFacebook E-mail Alerts
Home manage Las Vegas Review-Journal
  Jobs Cars Homes Shopping Travel Weddings Golf Best of Las Vegas Photo   Search:

RECENT EDITIONS
Sat Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri

Breaking News
Jul. 28, 2009
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Apartments cheaper to rent due to growing number of rental homes

By HUBBLE SMITH
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

Apartments are getting cheaper to rent in Las Vegas thanks to increased competition from the “shadow market” of single-family rental homes, a commercial broker said Tuesday.

An online search found 457 rental homes in Las Vegas for $1,100 a month and at least 1,400 square feet, said Spencer Ballif, senior vice president of multifamily housing at CB Richard Ellis.


Most Popular Stories
  • Three suspects arrested in shooting death of police officer
  • Three suspects arrested in shooting death of police officer
  • Station Casinos posts $455 million third-quarter loss
  • Man sentenced to 15 years for federal tax crimes
  • Two of three suspects in slaying of officer could face death penalty
  • Las Vegas police shoot at man fleeing after traffic stop
  • Las Vegas police shoot at man fleeing after traffic stop
  • Escalator accident at Caesars Palace still under investigation
  • Las Vegas man denied pardon in killing of abusive father
  • Man pleads guilty in death of girlfriend's child
  • Visitors authority urges officials to call off mock nuclear blast
  • Palms agrees to pay $100,000 to settle complaint




    • “There’s plenty of options,” he said. “It’s mind-boggling what’s available.”

    Ballif said it’s hard to quantify the number of rental homes on the market, but he thinks it’s at least 10,000, maybe 15,000. It could go higher as more people lose their jobs and let their homes go to foreclosure, he said.

    That’s on top of the estimated 6,400 apartment units completed or under construction this year.

    “What they thought is more foreclosed homeowners would become apartment renters and demand would go up,” Ballif said. “What we found is people who’ve been in a home would rather go into another home than an apartment.”

    Apartment occupancy rate dropped to 90.5 percent in the second quarter, compared with 91.3 percent in the previous quarter and 92.9 percent in the same quarter a year ago, Las Vegas-based business advisory firm Applied Analysis reported. Average monthly asking rent decreased 3.8 percent from a year ago to $857, or 95 cents a square foot.

    Occupancy is at its lowest level in more than a decade and rents are at price points quoted three years ago.

    A frail job market and continued home price depreciation both contributed to weakening demand for apartments, Applied Analysis project manager Jake Joyce said. These trends are not expected to correct through the end of the year, he said.

    Greg Willett, vice president of research and analysis for MPF YieldStar, said there’s absolutely no need for new apartment construction starts in Las Vegas. Inventory will grow by 4.2 percent in the next 18 months, one of the most aggressive rates in the country, he said.

    “You still continue to lose a significant number of jobs, which is limiting demand potential for rental units,” Willett said. “We’re looking at further softening in the marketplace.”

    He reported average Las Vegas apartment rental rates of $805 a month, down 5.7 percent from a year ago.

    CB Richard Ellis showed 10.5 percent vacancy in June for 104,535 apartment units, compared with 10.4 percent in May. Average rent was $862 a month, a 4.4 percent reduction from May.

    Ballif found a bit of good news in CB’s second-quarter apartment market survey. Concessions such as free rent and move-in discounts seem to have stabilized. Sixty-three percent of properties were offering concessions, compared with 84 percent in the first quarter, CB reported.

    A June survey of more than 870 property managers across the nation revealed that half of the respondents are experiencing more difficulty locating qualified renters compared to last year, according to TransUnion rental screening group.

    The survey results, released at the National Apartment Association’s Education Conference & Exposition in Las Vegas, found another 81 percent of respondents are concerned that they will not find reliable residents for the remainder of the year.

    When asked if they were seeing an increase in the number of applicants moving to rental units from foreclosed properties, the tally was almost evenly split.

    “While one would expect to see a more pronounced increase of applicants coming from foreclosures in this environment, a possible conclusion to draw is that many consumers coming from these circumstances are moving in with family members or friends to share expenses,” TransUnion vice president Mike Britti said.

    The highest rents for a two-bedroom apartment in Las Vegas are found in the southwest ($904) and Green Valley-Henderson ($900), while the cheapest rents are in the northeast ($727) and southeast ($823), CB Richard Ellis reported.

    Contact reporter Hubble Smith at hsmith@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0491.

    Newsvine Digg Fark Technorati reddit StumbleUpon del.icio.us Slashdot Propeller Mixx Furl Twitter MySpace Facebook Google Bookmarks Yahoo! Bookmarks Windows Live Favorites Ask MyStuff myAOL Favorites

    Leave Your Comment 12 Reader Comments
    Terms & Conditions
    The following comments are provided by readers and are the sole responsiblity of the authors. The reviewjournal.com does not review comments before publication nor guarantee their accuracy. By publishing a comment here you agree to abide by the comment policy. If you see a comment that violates the policy, please notify the web editor.

    Some comments may not display immediately due to an automatic filter. These comments will be reviewed within 48 hours. Please do not submit a comment more than once.
    Current Word Count:

    Note: Comments made by reporters and editors of the Las Vegas Review-Journal are presented with a yellow background.

    because houses are renting cheaper wrote on July 28, 2009 07:24 PM: DP wrote on July 28, 2009 05:48 PM:
    Then how do you explain why my rent just went up 5% over last year.

    Because houses are renting cheaper and the vacancy rates at apartments are at 70% and lower -- so the owners gouge their longterm residents (who have stuck around and paid the bills faithfully) to cover the owners' million dollar mistakes.

    In the meantime, the properties are going to H**L in a handbasket - no more maintenance (yeah right) in a timely fashion, pools are green and smell like sewage, gates don't work, ghetto thugs are selling drugs on property, etc.... (and that's in the nicer complexes without the bugs and trash everywhere). But you better make sure your rent is paid on time or you pay even more in late fees, court costs, and/or get evicted from that swamphole.

    I think I will stay in my house and deal with the property taxes, neighbors, and backyard privacy.


    Seven Burke wrote on July 28, 2009 06:41 PM: oh boo hoo hoo!

    these multi-millionaire property owners are having trouble finding people to gouge now!

    please, pass the kleenex!


    DP wrote on July 28, 2009 05:48 PM: Then how do you explain why my rent just went up 5% over last year.


    Jackov wrote on July 28, 2009 03:58 PM: "Occupancy is at its lowest level in more than a decade and rents are at price points quoted three years ago."

    I won!!!
    I refused to go from renting to buying a condo into a bubble market, so I left LV.

    Can't wait to return for my cheap luxury RENTAL on the Strip.



    Hold the PHONE wrote on July 28, 2009 03:10 PM: Now wait just a cotton picking minute. I'm a Democrat and I shop at Walmart. So what???


    Renting is a ripoff wrote on July 28, 2009 02:39 PM: $1,100 a month for a rental home? I pay less for my house payment.

    I also wonder how many of those rental homes are going to be in foreclosure soon. My old landlord was one of those slumlords who pocketed the rent, never fixed anything, refused to allow me to fix things at my own expense and eventually went into pre-foreclosure. Never got my $1,100 deposit back from her either, even though she didn't do any repairs with it.

    Do yourself a favor: Before you rent, check the property on http://www.rentalforeclosure.com/ to make sure you won't get a nasty surprise a few months down the road.


    BJ wrote on July 28, 2009 02:33 PM: Hey GD -- You are a "HYPOCRITE" ---who does your yard work?

    Quite obviously -- "YOU ARE A JERK AND MORE THAN LIKELY GET LIGHT HEADED AND SWEATY FROM CLIMBING A FLIGHT OF STAIRS".


    BabyDaddy wrote on July 28, 2009 02:26 PM: Sorry Jo, gotta agree with GD on this one....
    So be a good girl and go make me some beans and cornbread.


    GD wrote on July 28, 2009 01:58 PM: Hey Jo -- You are an "IDIOT" --- why do you think all good paying jobs are going overseas? Cheap labor "JERKO" just like illegals in the U.S. I don't think much of paying property taxes to give illegals "FREE MEDICAL - FREE SCHOOLS AND OVERLOADING OUR JAILS WITH THE LOWLIFE DIRTBAGS".

    Quite obviously -- "YOU ARE A DEMOCRAT AND MORE THAN LIKELY YOU SHOP AT WALMART".


    Jo wrote on July 28, 2009 01:34 PM: f@%* you Gd, america would not be the same with out illegals, they are the only ones that are willing to work the hard jobs and be paid less, not like all the lazy blacks and whites that like to sit and complain about evrithing all day long, stop crying GD this world will never be like you want it to be. sorry


    Read All Comments