Renters, rejoice: Apartments are cheap and the iPod is free

By VANESSA HO
SEATTLEPI.COM STAFF

(Editor's Note: Bart Flora, of Cornell & Associates, said some in-city, one-bedroom apartments now rent for $800 to $850, instead of roughly $1,000 two years ago. This story has been updated to accurately reflect his statement. )

Amid the layoffs, cutbacks, furloughs and foreclosures, one notable silver lining has emerged from the recession: It's a great time to rent.

Gone are the days of renters struggling to find a decent unit and rushing to open houses in competitive droves. These days, landlords are scraping to fill vacancies and lowering rents to historic lows, and renters now have their choice of deals.

"It's a great market for the renter," said Mike Scott, whose firm, Dupre + Scott, researches the Puget Sound apartment market. "It's a lousy market for the developer or investor."

Craigslist brims with apartment listings that scream not only with rock-bottom rents, but also with free rent, move-in specials, sign-up bonuses and other giveaways.

The Aspens at Ridgeview -- a new complex in SeaTac with granite breakfast bars and Roman soaking tubs-- is offering two months of free rent and an annual Costco membership. It's also giving away a free iPod or flatscreen TV to people who sign up the day they tour.

At Thornton Place, a 278-unit property that opened last summer in Northgate, new residents can score two months of free rent, plus movie tickets for 12 months, discounted Metro passes, and an annual paid fee for a Zipcar (in keeping with the property's "green" theme).

And at Aspira, a downtown luxury high-rise holding its grand opening this Saturday, there is an extraordinary deal on free rent.

"Aspira is finally OPEN!!! AND offering THREE months FREE!!!" says its enthusiasstic Craigslist ad.

The building's leasing consultant, Benjamin Hodson, was more matter-of-fact. He said Aspira's rent package is competitive with other properties. "In this industry, we do market surveys," he said. "We know this to be a competitive deal, similar to some of the other properties."

Craig Dwyer, of the Seattle-based Pinnacle Family of Companies real estate management office, said the market has been painful and that properties have had to drop rent and give concessions just to fill units.

"We've done holiday specials -- a one-night stay in a downtown hotel - or an iPod nano," said Dwyer, vice-president of Pinnacle's residential division. "We've done a microwave. We even did a 32-inch flat panel TV."

After peaking in 2006 and 2007, rents in King, Snohomish and Pierce counties tanked over the course of last year by nearly 4 percent, according to Scott. He expects rents will continue to plummet this year by 5 percent, and again in 2011, but less dramatically.

In Seattle, property managers say that trend has been more pronounced, with some rents dropping as much as 15 to 20 percent last year. In general, higher-priced units have had biggest rent reductions. Bart Flora, co-owner of Cornell & Associates, which manages 6,500 properties in the city, said some, in-city, one-bedroom apartment now rent for $800 to $850, instead of roughly $1,000 two years ago.

"It's the steepest drop I've ever encountered in 25 years, certainly in my career," said Flora. He added that he believed the market - at least in Seattle - appears to have hit bottom and is stabilizing.

The basic reason for the drop in rent is economics: Too much supply, not enough demand. Just as the economy was imploding, a glut of apartments went on the market, due to condo conversions and new construction. At the same time, job losses and competitive home prices have led to less demand for rentals.

For Tamara Brown, a program manager at Solid Ground, a Seattle group that helps low-income people find housing, the drop in rent has been a boon for clients.

She said large apartments previously renting at $1,300 are now going for $950 - a big difference for her clients. "It's enough to pay your utilities," she said.

Scott cautioned that the favorable market for renters is a bad thing overall in the long run. A soft rental market means less "product" -- or new buildings on the market -- which is bad for economic growth and development, Scott said.

Next year, he expected only 550 new apartments to open in King, Snohomish and Pierce counties. To put that into perspective, 6,000 new units went on the market.

"The last time we had so little development was 50 years ago," Scott said. "We went through a horrendous recession in the early '70s called the Boeing Bust, and still had more development then."

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http://www.ansa.it/documents/1311520...dependence.pdf
El Libro Negro del Comunismo (en español) http://depositfiles.com/files/g8k5agbhi

Un buen resumen en castellano no iba mal, gracias.

Y tú, como de costumbre, en otro planeta.