Erika Schnitzer at the MultiHousing News 3-18-09 online magazine writes on a compelling article on the apartment industry in Sacramento area. While fewer than 2,000 apartments are in the pipeline, only 100 new units will be delivered this year. Why? Job losses along with the land’s geography and supply constraint generates “an oversupply of market-rate and affordable apartments and single-family homes” says Ryan DeMar, associate vice president-investments in Marcus & Millichap’s Roseville, Calif. office.

Still, Sacramento has managed to move up to #21 in an analysis that ranks apartment markets. Rents are either flat are or being lowered for new leases along with offering concessions. “I think that, as we move forward toward the end of the year, investment opportunities-mainly distressed-will become more abundant,” predicts DeMar. “Owners with maturing debt and highly leverage owners will have difficulty, so there will be opportunities for buyers to negotiate good-buy opportunities.”

“What we’re faced with is the loss of affordability, not only from the apartment and single-family standpoint, but from the employer standpoint,” says DeMar, adding that the city will “look like a promising place for businesses to locate and hire employees because cost of living is low. The benefits of locating a tech company is all there now-you just need capital markets to come back to start a business.”

To read the entire article, go to http://www.multihousingnews.com/multihousing/content_display/news/west/e3ie7894883273eb628bb254b6360bdc8c0

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