With apartment vacancies increasing, along with the rising number of foreclosures, we should be looking for data on where people are living. Doubling up? Residing w/ friends and family? Squatting? Homeless? Some of these choices might be illegal (over-occupied hosing),others might be dangerous & contribute to fires, etc.
Robert J. Strupp
Director of Research and Policy
Community Law Center
www.communitylaw.org

There are only two explanations why apartment vacancies are rising. First, tenants are being evicted for failure to pay rent. This could be caused by rising unemployment, cut in wages, less hours at work, etc. The second reason could be that renters are finding that they are looking to cut expenses, even if they are able to pay their bills. This would be done either by terminating the lease early or failure to renew.

I would have to imagine that most are either leaving and moving in with roommates to share expenses or moving in with family. Some may become homeless, but I believe it is very difficult to measure the statistics. Those that have been victims of foreclosure will also most likely find a place of living where expenses can be shared. There is also the option of receiving subsidized housing, such as Section 8.

My question is, if the economy is "recovering", why are food stamps and Section 8 housing at an all time? Why are entitlement programs continuing to increase if the recession is over? The truth is, the real unemployment is over 17% (U6). The smoke and mirror numbers given by the BLS are understated. The U6 unemployment should be the number that really matters since it includes discouraged workers, temp jobs, marginally attached workers, and part time workers who seek full time employment. Also, those that have gone back to school are not included in the work force. Thus, they are no longer considered unemployed.

I don't think 1% decrease is significant enough to even write about. For a rent of 1200$ a month it's what, 12$? Ok, you get 2 free lunches per month - big news...

We started renting about 6 years ago and the rent slowly went up from $900 to $1100 for the same unit. I don't see how a free lunch will make up for this.

Interested example (my complex)

Annapolis 2BDR/Den unit

Nov 2007: $1350/mth
Nov 2008: $1430/mth (+5.5%)
Nov 2009: $1400/mth (-2% woohoo)

Checked today, my type of unit now lists for $1530!

I'm hoping this is a seasonal shift for the upcoming Spring crowd... but I'd never seen it this high.

I just snagged a decent room in Fed Hill for $450. I've been trying to move here for years but not wanting to pay $700-800. Granted it' wasn't rehabbed with granite countertops like all the other places and - I do have 4 other roommates but I've become fast friends with them and it's in a prime location so I couldn't be happier.

I would say thank goodness for the recession but apparently the rent in this place has been the same for a few years....you could argue supply demand - before there would have been more competition and it would have been filled through a friend moving in.

I will say that during my time recently "hunting" on craigslist I noticed a kit of rental listings getting re-listed at lower amounts a few weeks 800, 750, to 700, etc.