Philly.com recently reported that "modest economic growth" will benefit the Philadelphia region's apartment market during the rest of 2013. Trends show that vacancy rates are falling and effective rents are rising.While the growth may not be huge, it's a good sign that rents are consistently rising.
This year, developers will add 2,000 rental apartments to the market, near doubling the 1,031 from 2012. Additionally, building permits for multi-family units should see about 5 percent growth.
So where will the renters come from? Increased employment will account for a bunch of new area tenants. Many young adults are also looking for places in the city because they are not ready or able to commit to buying a place of their own.
Center City will continue to be a hub for luxury rental development, targeting wealthier buyers who are looking to move from the suburbs.
According to the article, vacancy rates will decline from 5.2 percent to 4.8 percent regionwide, which will result in an estimated 2.1 percent rent increase.