West Palm apartment market improves

A recovering job market is helping the West Palm Beach apartment market show signs of life, with the area’s vacancy rate continuing to drop, according to Marcus & Millichap. West Palm Beach’s rents also rose for the ninth consecutive quarter, as an expanding number of property owners are successfully imposing higher rents as lease roll over. Vacancy in West Palm Beach is projected to fall by 90 basis points to 5.7 percent this year, following a 90-basis point fall last year. Rent growth is also projected to continue, with a 2.8 percent increase in 2012 to $1,125 per month. This year will also see the most construction growth in the multi-family sector since 2007, with approximately 1,400 units in the pipeline. — Alexander Britell