US apartment rates and occupancy rates have fallen significantly, in the west and south regions. I am sure that the low occupancy rates could have triggered the decline in apartment rates. Bu the lower apartment rates still fail to trigger the incline in occupancy rates of the apartments. However, the positive aspect here is that renters now have a wide choice of choosing apartments at affordable rates.
According to the numbers released by the Bloomberg, occupancy rates in US in the first quarter of 2009 fell to 91.4 percent. It was 92.2 percent in the previous quarter and 92.6 percent in the previous year.
This can be due to the surge in the unemployment rate and the increased volatility in the jobs. The jobs lost in March were 663,000, totaling the total layoffs score to 5.1 million since the recession began.
However, the apartment rental prices dropped to $978 in the first quarter of 2009 from $993 in the previous quarter and the year earlier.