The Valley’s apartment rent hit $817 in the last three months of 2007, up 2.3 percent year-over-year. While still climbing, rent growth has cooled off in recent months as landlords face a rising number of single-family homes being rented out by frustrated home sellers.

Statewide, the average rent was $787 in the fourth quarter, a 2.2 percent increase from a year ago, according to research firm RealFacts. The company analyzed 662 properties, totaling 181,015 apartment units, throughout the Valley for the study.

It’s difficult to know how many house rentals are in the Valley, since no one tracks that statistic, but local experts estimate there could be thousands. Rent growth has also tapered off in part because of failed condominium conversion projects that came back on the market as rentals, increasing supply.

The result: It’s a good time to be a renter with landlords offering more incentives, such as a month of free rent.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 22nd, 2008 at 10:30 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.