Apartment vacancies in Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties will keep
climbing, according to brokerage Marcus & Millichap. In Miami-Dade
County, the vacancy rate climbed to 5.8 percent in the second quarter,
a level last reached five years ago, and additional job losses will
likely stifle rental housing demand for the rest of the year. In Palm
Beach County, the vacancy rate is expected to rise 150 basis points to
9.4 percent, after a 10 basis point decline last year. Asking rents
there are forecast to decrease 3.8 percent this year to $1,067 per
month, following a 0.4 percent drop in 2008. Effective rents are
expected to decline 4.8 percent to $991 per month, one year after
sliding 0.7 percent. Miami monthly asking rents are forecast to fall
3.2 percent to $1,069 per month. Effective rents are expected to
decrease 4.4 percent to $995 per month. Last year, asking rents receded
1.1 percent, while effective rents declined 2 percent. TRD [more]

The Broward County apartment sector will stay weak for the rest of the
year, according to Marcus & Millichap, one of the nation’s largest
real estate investment services firms. A recent report said a drop in
renter demand has contributed to a 110 basis point rise in the vacancy
rate while pushing down asking and effective rents 1.8 percent and 2.1
percent, respectively. Asking rents are projected to fall 4.3 percent
in 2009 to $1,067 per month. Effective rents are forecast to end the
year at $993 per month, a 5.4 percent drop. In 2008, asking rents
inched up 0.3 percent, and effective rents slipped 0.6 percent. Sales
of apartment buildings have picked up, though, said Gregory Matus,
regional manager of the brokerage’s Fort Lauderdale office. In most of
these re-sales, properties were sold at discounts ranging from 5
percent to more than 60 percent off the original purchase price, he
said. TRD
[more]

Vacancy rates remained steady in West Palm Beach between April and June,
even though mounting job losses have reduced rental housing demand,
according to the second-quarter apartment report from Marcus &
Millichap. But West Palm Beach employers are expected to cut 19,000
jobs in 2009, which will propel housing demand further downward. Low
demand for rental housing will also likely send asking rents down 3.8
percent this year, to $1,066 per month, compared to a 0.4 percent drop
in asking rents last year. TRD [more]