Las Vegas apartment rents at lowest rate in 6 years

By Buck Wargo

Wednesday, July 21, 2010 | 11:13 a.m.

Apartment rents continued to slide during the second quarter in the Las Vegas Valley to their lowest level in six years, but the occupancy rate at complexes has leveled off, analysts said.

The average monthly rent requested by landlords during the second quarter was $765, down from $777 in the first quarter, according to Applied Analysis, a research and consulting firm. Landlords were charging $857 in the second quarter of 2009, meaning rents have dropped nearly 11 percent in a year, the firm noted.

The apartment market has been hurt by people leaving the valley because of the loss of gaming and construction job, analysts said. Some tenants have turned to buying or renting homes because of low prices and low lease rates.

“Much like the market experienced in the hotel industry during the past two years, apartment owners are finding the need to reduce prices in an effort to maintain their occupancies,” said Applied Analysis Principal Brian Gordon.

Gordon said the price-cutting should start to slow within the next six months, but the job market will determine the timing of the apartment market’s recovery.

The occupancy rate during the second quarter was 90.7 percent, about the same as the first quarter. That is still well below five-year historical averages of 93.7 percent, the firm reported.

The flow of renters to homes could slow because of the expiration of the homebuyer tax credit and the possibility that interest rates will rise by the end of the year, said Jake Joyce, project manager at Applied Analysis.

The highest average monthly rent charged in the valley during the second quarter was $919 in the southwest valley. The lowest average rent was $648 in the northeast. The central/east part of the valley had average rents of $696.

Others include the northwest, $770; north, $781; west, $766; south, $776 and southeast, $840.