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AUSTIN LANDLORDS INCREASE RENTS, OCCUPANCY ON UPSWING

AUSTIN (Statesman.com) - According to a survey by M/PF, the days of concessions in the rental market are numbered in Austin as occupancy increased to the highest level in three years and multifamily construction decreased.

Higher occupancies can be partially attributed to robust job growth in the area. However, a large part of the growth is the result of fewer projects being added to the market. In 2004, only 2,262 units were added, less than half of the 5,156 units from the year before.

The area recorded the largest jump in apartment occupancy of 58 cities tracked nationally, from 89 percent in December 2003 to 91 percent in December 2004. Rents are rising for the first time in three years, from an average of $712 a month last year to $726 a month in December.

AUSTIN HOUSING MARKET LEAST VOLATILE

AUSTIN (cnnmoney.com) - The Austin housing market is unlikely to suffer in the event of an economic downturn because it is the least volatile of the 331 U.S. metropolitan statistical areas, according to a report by Standard & Poor (S&P). The information provider developed a housing volatility index to identify which housing markets are most likely to have their bubble burst if the economy turns sour.

Some of the most volatile housing markets are those which have seen soaring appreciation numbers recently. These include Riverside, Calif. and Orange County, Calif. Many of the least volatile markets, including Austin; Provo, Utah, and Fort Wayne, Indiana, had price increases of less than 2 percent during last year.

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