News
APARTMENT HOPPERS
November 15, 2012
| Rents used to be a lot stickier than they are now (when a butterfly flaps its wings in Australia, Harbor East apartment rents drop 1%), making revenue projection a moving target. For that, the sector can thank a mobile and tech-centric renter pool and a hefty development pipeline. |
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| Yesterday, Federal Capital Partners' Lacy Rice told us renters are more informed than ever at a time when oversupply is on the way to the Mid-Atlantic. They can see apartment building rents and concession specials online easily, just as technology like RealPage's YieldStar and Rainmaker's LRO help owners adjust rents in real time based on supply. Two new buildings, for instance, could drop a submarket's occupancy from 95% to 85%, Lacy says, and that impacts rents immediately. He also points out that it's a lot easier for a renter to pick up and go at the first sign of a better deal. Mobile phones mean no more switching your land line to a new address, and important mail is electronic nowadays. "They'll take their futon and big-screen TV and they're out the door," he says. |
