APARTMENT NEWS

ARCHIVES 2009:

Apartment vacancy increases locally (Greenville, SC) - 070309
Blame it on the economy - and new construction
By Angelia Davis

A few months ago, Sandy McCall's residential property management company saw an increase of tenants moving out because they'd lost their jobs and couldn't pay their rent.
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These days though, the Greenville business is “very busy” filling the single-family homes and condos it manages with a new wave of renters, McCall said.

The same can't be said about many other area apartment communities, according to a Charlotte-based apartment research firm.

Real Data's June report said the vacancy rate for apartments in the Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson areas has climbed to 12.5 percent.

The report blames the economic downturn and job losses to a weakened demand for apartments.

And steady growth in supply over the past few years has also put downward pressure on occupancy, the report said.

There are currently more than 500 apartment units under construction in the Greenville area and more than 1,700 units in the planning stages, the report said.

So far in 2009, there have been 28 building permits issued for multifamily structures in Spartanburg County, 17 in Greenville County and five in Pickens County according to HUD's State of the Cities Data System. On the other hand, there have been none permitted in Anderson County

Jenny Shelden Pauswinski, Real Data's multifamily market analyst, said like single-family housing, apartments rely on job growth to get more renters.

The Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson area lost 14,715 jobs during the past 12 months, according to an estimate based on Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Additionally, Pauswinski said, people have been unable to sell their homes and are instead renting them out.

“This means that many available renters who might normally get apartments choose to rent houses instead,” she said. “A house is sometimes more appealing for families or people with dogs, so they skip the amenities that apartments offer, like pools and better management.”

McCall said some of her company's clients have lost their homes due to their work hours being cut back. “If they foreclose on their house, they still have to have a place to live,” she said.

Instead of apartments, though, some people are opting to move back home with their parents or in with roommates, Pauswiniski said.

“All of this combines with high amounts of supply over the last couple of years in the Greenville area, and drives down rental rates and occupancy,” she said.

The average rent in the Greenville area has dropped below $640 per month.