R.I., Prov. metro rental vacancy rates drop in 4Q

PROVIDENCE – Rhode Island’s rental vacancy rate was 4.9 percent in the fourth quarter, a drop from 6.2 percent in fourth quarter 2014, according to apartmentlist.com.
The website, an online rental marketplace, said it based its data on U.S. Census Bureau information released this week. It said vacancy rates have declined significantly since the recession, thanks to a steady increase in the renter population, and rents in many states have risen as a result.
The national rental vacancy rate was 7 percent in the fourth quarter, which was 4.1 percent lower than the most recent peak in 2009, it said.
It said states with the lowest vacancy rates in the fourth quarter were Vermont at 2.9 percent; Oregon, 3.5 percent; and Washington, 3.8 percent. Alabama had the highest vacancy rate at 16 percent, followed by Kansas and Louisiana, at 12.9 and 12.8 percent, respectively.
As for the Providence metropolitan area, the fourth-quarter vacancy rate was lower than the statewide rate at 3.7 percent; also, in fourth quarter 2014, the metro vacancy rate was higher at 5.6 percent.
Among the large metro areas in the U.S., the most supply constrained were Portland at 2.4 percent; Los Angeles, 2.7 percent; and Austin, 3.4 percent. Birmingham, Ala. had the highest vacancy rate at 20.1 percent, followed by Tucson, Ariz. with 12.6 percent and Raleigh, N.C. at 12.3 percent.

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