Report: Rent Growth Picks Up in Q2

Rent growth in the apartment sector experienced a revival in the second quarter, according to a market report form MPF Research, a division of Texas-based ""Real Page, Inc."":http://www.realpage.com/

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Over the last year, rents for new leases grew at an annual pace of 3.1 percent following a slowdown in the previous quarter. In the first quarter of this year, annual rents were up by just 2.6 percent, marking the weakest growth since late 2010, according to MPF Research. On a quarterly basis, rents inched up by 1.6 percent.

At the same time, the national apartment occupancy rate also moved higher, increasing to 95.3 percent from 94.9 percent in previous quarter.

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In the second quarter of last year, the apartment occupancy rate stood at 95.2 percent.

""While a slight uptick in occupancy during the second quarter is good news, the shifts recorded over the course of the past couple of years in large part reflect normal seasonality,"" explained MPF Research VP Greg Willett. ""The big-picture story is that the apartment market has been essentially full since the middle of 2011, and that it's continuing to remain full even as we add a significant number of new rental properties and cycle out some previous apartment residents to home purchase. We're adding enough new households for all types of housing to experience momentum at the same time.""

After tracking apartment units in the 100 biggest markets, the research division reported the market absorbed 88,524 units, up 69 percent from the volume a year ago.

Once again, San Francisco led growth among large metro areas after seeing prices jump 7.8 percent year-over-year. Monthly rent in the area now averages $2,498.

Other metros that made the top five were Oakland (+6.9 percent), Denver-Boulder (+6.1 percent), Seattle-Tacoma (+6 percent), and San Jose (+5 percent).

Three Texas metros--Houston, Austin, and Fort Worth--were among the top 10 after annual rents grew at pace that ranged from 3.6 percent to 4.3 percent.