It should come as little surprise, but as fast as new units are hitting the multifamily market, they’re being rented out and bought up. The latest data from the Survey of Market Absorption of Apartments (SOMA), compiled by the Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), points to an uptick in rentals and sales of newly built apartments and condos during the second quarter.
For unfinished apartments, the three-month absorption rate for the second quarter increased to 61 percent, following a moderate decline during the first quarter of 2012 when the number registered at 56 percent. Completions were on the rise too, with 15,700 new rental units hitting the market.
Things are on the up-and-up for multifamily for-sale units as well. The absorption rate increased from 49 percent at the beginning of the year to 64 percent. But completions for for-sale units hit a new low, with only 1,500 new units coming on the market during the second quarter.
The survey noted that deliveries for affordable housing units were particularly strong. Properties financed by low-income housing tax credits and otherwise subsidized units made up 32 percent of all completions in the second quarter.
